Quantify and Observe by Joannah Underhill
This artwork is a celebration of the scientific
research process. It is inspired by the roles
science, technology, mathematics and
observation play in understanding molecular
structures and models, and playfully hints
at the diversity of sub-cellular life and the
unlimited complexity of how cells interact.
It is based on the idea that in order to learn
and understand, we first need to observe our
subject in the most objective way possible.
It also reminds us to keep in mind the basic
structures of what we are observing, while
simultaneously keeping an eye on the bigger
picture.
Quantify and Observe forms part of Brisbane
artist Joannah Underhill’s IMB artist-inresidency collection, Envisaging the Invisible.
You can read more about Ms Underhill’s
collaboration with IMB, and view her full
collection, at jounderhill.com
You can buy official prints from the collection,
which are signed by the artist, at
www.imb.uq.edu.au/prints, with all proceeds
supporting IMB’s vital research.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This report was published by IMB
Communications in May 2014 and is an
accurate record of IMB’s achievements from
1 January–31 December 2013.
To enquire about this report, please email
communications@imb.uq.edu.au.
CRICOS Provider No. 00025B

2013
ANNUAL
REPORT

CONTENTS
2

Vice-Chancellor and
President’s message

3
4

Director’s message
About IMB

5

2013 snapshot

6

Executive Committee

DISCOVERY

9

Research priorities

10

Research highlights

14

Research programs

14

Chemistry and Structural Biology

20

Genomics and Computational Biology

24

Molecular Cell Biology

28

Molecular Genetics and Development

33

Joint appointments and affiliates

34

Research support facilities

36

Grants, fellowships and awards

LEARNING
39

Research training

ENGAGEMENT

Pictured: Dr Guillermo Gomez (Yap Lab)

43

Scientific engagement

44

Community engagement

46

Research commercialisation

48

Global collaborations

SUPPORTING INFORMATION

53

Financial statement

54

Our people

56

Organisational structure

57

Occupational health and safety

58

Scientific publications

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

1

Vice-Chancellor
and President’s
Message
The quality, energy and productivity of the University’s
research community grew to new levels in 2013.
Our life sciences institutes including our first and
largest institute, the Institute for Molecular Bioscience
(IMB), played an integral part in our ongoing success.
Strengthening UQ’s global position
The University continued its surge in
global rankings, improving in all four major
international university rankings in 2013.
By December, UQ sat at 63 in the Times
Higher Education World University Rankings
(up from 65); at 43 in the QS World
University Rankings (up from 46); at 67 in the
Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for
World Universities (up from 72); and at 85 in
the Academic Ranking of World Universities
(up from 90).
IMB and its fellow UQ life sciences institutes
can be proud to have contributed to UQ
being ranked in the top 25 in the world
—and second in Australia—for biological
sciences. The University ascended 16 places
for biological sciences since last year’s
QS World University Subject Rankings, a
considerable achievement.
These solid positions in the world rankings
demonstrate a strong foundation on which
we are further building our capacity for
scientific innovation. Moreover, it testifies to
the relevance and impact of our research
in solving the challenges faced by people
throughout our shared global environment.
Partnering with industry
The culture of collaboration and innovation
at IMB has attracted the support of public
and private organisations nationally and
internationally.
During the year, IMB had active
collaborations with three of the top five
pharmaceutical companies globally; worked
closely with leading companies in the
agriculture, biofuels and reagents sectors;
and initiated new, or extended existing
partnerships with Alchemia, Elanco, Janssen,
Phylogica and Innovate Ag.
These partnerships have provided a clear
pathway for translating the institute’s
research into practical applications of value
to the community.
The broad range of industry investment
and commitment testifies to the life-

2

changing outcomes of IMB’s biomedical
and biotechnology research. Furthermore,
the institute continued to demonstrate its
innovative research through the management
of an intellectual property portfolio of 25
patents, ranging from drug discovery tools to
therapeutics and agriculture.
In April, I had the pleasure of celebrating
a key milestone for one of IMB’s longterm industry collaborations, welcoming
Queensland Premier, Campbell Newman,
and Minister for Science, IT, Innovation and
the Arts, Ian Walker, to the official opening
of UQ’s $3.5 million Solar Biofuels Research
Centre.
Professor Ben Hankamer developed this
leading-edge facility with the Queensland
Government, KBR Inc., Neste Oil Corp.,
Cement Australia Pty Ltd, Siemens, Bielefeld
University and the Karlsruhe Institute of
Technology in Germany. This exemplary
partnership forms part of a spectrum of
discovery under the UQ Energy initiative,
which is helping Queensland pursue
its scientific and economic potential in
pioneering sustainable, clean energy
solutions.
Leading from the front
Scientific leadership remains a key priority
for the University, and 2013 delivered many
opportunities for UQ to nurture, support and
celebrate its amazing depth of talent.
In March, five UQ scientists were among the
20 new Australian Academy of Science (AAS)
Fellows named in 2013 for their outstanding
contributions to science, joining the existing
19 UQ scientists admitted to the academy
as fellows since 1988. IMB’s Professor David
Craik was one of the new fellows announced,
in recognition of his discovery of a novel
class of proteins known as cyclotides, whose
circular shape makes them ultra-stable and
therefore an ideal base for therapeutic drugs.
In November, two IMB research projects
were recognised as some of the best in the
country by the National Health and Medical
Research Council (NHMRC). Cell biologist
Professor Rob Parton was awarded the topranked NHMRC Project grant out of 3500

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

applications nationwide in 2012 for his work
to study a cellular pathway that appears to
play a crucial role in cell migration around the
body, including the spread of cancer cells.
And infectious disease expert Professor
Matt Cooper was awarded the top-ranked
NHMRC Development grant out of 102
applications nationwide in 2012 for his work
to develop improved treatments for drugresistant tuberculosis.
I also want to congratulate Professor Melissa
Little for her contributions to delivering
the McKeon Review to the Australian
Government in April, which details a 10-year
strategic health and medical research plan
for the nation.
The life sciences sector has an important role
to play in improving the health of our people
and prosperity of our state. Through its many
productive partnerships and collaborations,
IMB has proven itself to be a driving force in
Queensland life sciences. I congratulate and
thank Brandon and his dedicated team for
their hard work in 2013, and I look forward
to seeing the institute continue to expand its
reach and impact, locally and globally.

Professor Peter Høj
Vice-Chancellor and President
The University of Queensland

DIRECTOR’S
Message
2013 was a year of great progress for IMB’s staff
and students, as we connected with our colleagues
in industry, academia and clinics around the world
to drive innovation in health and technology, and
improve quality of life.

In May, we marked 10 years since the official
opening of the $105 million Queensland
Bioscience Precinct (QBP)—the home of
IMB. Ten years on, the QBP continues to
be the cornerstone of one of the country’s
largest bioscience research precincts,
housing a range of advanced technologies
and facilities that allow IMB scientists to
conduct comprehensive and multidisciplinary
investigations.
Celebrating our leaders of today
The quality and relevance of our discoveries
to the global community was reaffirmed
during the year with IMB researchers
publishing 354 scientific publications, and
securing more than 58 per cent ($36 million)
of the institute’s annual income ($62 million)
from competitive grant funding. We also
secured five grants through the Australian
Research Council’s (ARC) Linkage program
to work in partnership with industry to
accelerate our basic research into practical
applications of benefit to the community. I
thank our industry partners for investing in our
new and ongoing joint projects.
In 2013, Professor David Craik became the
third IMB researcher to become a Fellow of
the Australian Academy of Science (AAS);
Professor Alpha Yap was awarded the
Australia and New Zealand Society for Cell
and Development Biology President’s Medal;
and Professor Glenn King received the
Beckman Coulter Discovery Science Award
from the Australian Society of Biochemistry
and Molecular Biology.
Our rising research stars also achieved
highly, with Dr Lachlan Coin and Dr Kate
Schroder receiving UQ Foundation Research
Excellence awards, and Dr Schroder and
Dr Irina Vetter earning Tall Poppy awards for
their outstanding research and community
engagement activities aimed at inspiring
young Australians about science.
Furthermore, Professor Melissa Little was
part of the expert panel that delivered the
McKeon Review, an independent review on
the future of health and medical research
(HMR) in Australia. Notably, the McKeon
Review provided a welcomed reminder of
the value of HMR, stating that every dollar
invested in Australian HMR is estimated to
deliver a return in health benefits of $2.17.

I would like to congratulate Professor Melissa
Little for receiving IMB’s first National Health
and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)–
European Union Collaborative Research
grant; and Professor Matt Cooper, who will
lead an international research team as part
of his grant awarded by the Australia–India
Strategic Research Fund. I would also like
to congratulate Professors Rob Parton,
Alpha Yap and Kirill Alexandrov, who were
awarded a five-year NHMRC Program grant
to investigate the cell surface at the molecular
level; and Associate Professor Mark Smythe,
whose IMB spin-out company, Protagonist
Therapeutics, raised $18 million from Series
B private financing. The biotechnology
company is developing oral drugs for
diseases whose current treatments must be
injected, providing a safer, and more effective,
convenient, and affordable choice for patients
and the healthcare system.
In April, we conducted an international
recruitment process to find two new
laboratory heads to join our leadership team.
We received more than 100 applications,
and following a competitive process we
were fortunate to discover two outstanding
candidates from within our own ranks,
appointing immunity and inflammation expert
Dr Kate Schroder, and heart development
and disease expert Dr Kelly Smith, to
establish and lead their own IMB labs.
Celebrating our leaders of tomorrow

in New York; and two of IMB’s budding life
scientists secured places in some of the
world’s top training courses in the US. PhD
student Kathryn McClelland was one of only
23 participants accepted worldwide to join
the Marine Biological Laboratory Embryology
course in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
And PhD student Elanor Wainwright was
one of only 14 participants accepted to join
the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Mouse
Development, Stem Cells and Cancer course
in New York.
Celebrating our community
As always, our research was bolstered by
community support. During the year, our
researchers engaged with the community
by hosting laboratory tours, public seminars,
student information sessions and scientific
conferences; contributing to online patient
support and education resources, and health
professional development sessions; and
strengthened their relationships with the
media to better inform Queenslanders about
what we do, and why and how we do it.
A final remarkable achievement worthy of
celebrating is Dr Ryan Taft’s partnership
with the Mission Massimo Foundation and
an international team of collaborators, who
together successfully diagnosed young
Massimo’s rare childhood disease. In the
process, they also discovered a disease
entirely new to medicine.

This year we were training 121 research
higher degree students and conferred a
record 34 PhD students, who are now
working in academic institutions such as the
University of Oxford, leading life sciences
organisations such as Lonza in the US, and
government organisations such as CSIRO.
We are also pleased to have been able to
offer some of our alumni the opportunity
to continue their research here at IMB and
across UQ.

This report is a record of our collective
achievements in 2013 and I commend
and thank our staff, students, partners
and supporters for helping to move us
closer to realising our vision of being a life
sciences institute with global impact. With
your support, we can continue our work to
transform the world through science.

Our students demonstrated their motivation
and scientific excellence in many ways during
the year, including through their strong
success in receiving prestigious awards and
scholarships to advance their training and
research projects.

Director
Institute for Molecular Bioscience

Professor Brandon Wainwright

Molecular cell biology PhD student Marga
Gual Soler was selected from more than
10,000 applicants to undertake a threemonth traineeship with the United Nations

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

3

ABOUT
IMB
Our mission is to drive
the bioeconomy and to
create better health.
Our vision is to be a life
sciences institute with
global impact.

The University of Queensland’s Institute
for Molecular Bioscience (IMB), which
is based at the Queensland Bioscience
Precinct, is one of Asia-Pacific’s leading
life sciences research institutes.
Established in 2000 as UQ’s
first research institute, IMB is a
multidisciplinary scientific research
institute committed to improving
quality of life by pursuing discoveries in
medical genomics, drug discovery and
biotechnology.
IMB’s 500 researchers, postgraduate
students and support staff work in
partnership with their academic, industry
and clinical colleagues around the
world to advance knowledge in the
institute’s seven impact areas: cancer,
pain, childhood diseases, infection and
inflammation, diabetes and obesity,
agriculture, and clean energy.
By investigating how we grow and
develop at the genetic, molecular,
cellular and organ levels, IMB
researchers can better understand the
development processes and pathways
involved in human and animal health and
disease.
The institute also has the technical
capacity to translate its new knowledge
into drugs, diagnostics and technologies
to more effectively prevent, detect and
treat disease; and pursue opportunities
in a range of biotechnology applications
for health, industry and the environment.

4

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

2013
SNAPSHOT
Europe
26%

North
America
24%

3/5

121

IMB
people

25

delivered to the
community for
every $1 invested
by the Queensland
Government

PhD students
graduated

181
40

staff

6%

Philanthropy,
commercialisation
and other income
and recoveries

2674

external visitors to
the Queensland
Bioscience
Precinct

IMB
47.4%
AUS
21.4%

NHMRC Projects

ARC Discovery

ARC Linkage

AUS
39%

35%

Operating

4%
6% Administration
85%
5%
Research

Infrastructure

IMB
100%

2013

(competitive)

total
income

media mentions

seminars hosted as
part of IMB’s Friday
seminar series

59%
Peer reviewed

$62M

2000+

UQ undergraduate
lectures delivered
by IMB scientists

Capital
equipment

IMB
45%
AUS
20.5%

4,300,000
pipette tips,
which if laid
end-to-end
would stretch
more than
172km

Professor Wainwright was
appointed Director of IMB in 2006.
Previously, he was IMB’s Deputy
Director (Research). As Director,
Professor Wainwright is responsible
for advancing the institute’s
research initiatives, strengthening
the institute’s global connections,
and leading IMB’s scientists in their
work to improve quality of life.

Professor Stow was appointed as
IMB’s Deputy Director (Research)
in 2008. Previously, she was Head
of IMB’s Molecular Cell Biology
Division. As Deputy Director
(Research), Professor Stow is
responsible for managing the
scientific and competitive funding
performance of the institute, as well
as IMB’s postgraduate program.

Dr Taylor was appointed IMB’s
founding Deputy Director
(Operations) in 1998, working
to establish the institute from
the ground up. In this role, he is
responsible for the administration
and operations of the institute,
including management of institute
finances, infrastructure, safety,
support services, and staff.

Professor Wainwright completed
his undergraduate and
postgraduate studies at The
University of Adelaide, after
which he secured a postdoctoral
fellowship with St Mary’s Hospital
at Imperial College London. During
his six years at Imperial he worked
on the first human genome project
and also became a Medical
Research Council Senior Research
Fellow. He returned to Australia
in 1990 to join UQ’s Centre for
Molecular and Cellular Biology
(now IMB).

Professor Stow completed her
undergraduate and postgraduate
studies at Monash University
in Melbourne, after which she
undertook postdoctoral training
at Yale University’s School of
Medicine as a Fogarty International
Fellow. She was soon appointed
Assistant Professor in the renal
unit at Massachusetts General
Hospital, where she established an
independent research group in cell
biology. She returned to Australia
in 1994 as a Wellcome Trust Senior
International Fellow to join UQ’s
Centre for Molecular and Cellular
Biology (now IMB).

Dr Taylor completed his
undergraduate studies in
biochemistry and postgraduate
studies in radiation biology in the
UK, working as a research officer
for several years. In the late 1970s,
he relocated to Australia to take up
a position as a Research Fellow
at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer
Research, and a lecturer at the
University of Sydney, before moving
to Brisbane in 1984 to become the
Queensland Institute of Medical
Research’s first Scientific Manager.

Director

Professor Wainwright leads his own
IMB laboratory and serves on the
board of the Australian Genome
Research Facility and a number of
national and international scientific
review committees.

6

Deputy Director (Research)

Professor Stow leads her own IMB
laboratory and is a current National
Health and Medical Research
Council (NHMRC) Principal
Research Fellow.

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

Deputy Director (Operations)

Dr Taylor has more than a decade
of experience in research and 30
years of experience in scientific
management and laboratory
design and construction.

Deputy Director (Advancement)

Amanda Whelan was appointed
as IMB’s Deputy Director
(Advancement) in 2011. In this role,
she is responsible for managing
the institute’s philanthropic
development, government relations
and communications programs.
Prior to joining IMB, Amanda was a
senior advisor and advocate for the
Florida Association of Counties and
Florida-based law firm Hopping
Green and Sams.

Professor
David Fairlie

Professor
Mark Ragan

BSc (Hons) (Adelaide), PhD (NSW)

BA (Hons) (Chicago), PhD
(Dalhousie)

Head, Chemistry and
Structural Biology
Division

Professor Fairlie was
appointed as Head of IMB’s
Chemistry and Structural
Biology Division in 2009. He
is one of a team of ten IMB
laboratory heads and four
division affiliates working
across the disciplines of
chemistry, biochemistry and
pharmacology.
Professor Fairlie completed
his undergraduate studies at
The University of Adelaide,
postgraduate studies at
Australian National University
and The University of
New South Wales, and
postdoctoral studies at
Stanford University and The
University of Toronto. He has
held Australian Research
Council(ARC) Federation and
Professorial fellowships and
chief scientific officer and
scientific director roles in
leading scientific companies.
He has also collaborated
with some of the world’s
largest biopharmaceutical
companies.
Professor Fairlie is a
National Health and Medical
Research Council (NHMRC)
Senior Principal Research
Fellow.

Head, Genomics and
Computational Biology
Division

Professor
Alpha Yap

Professor
Peter Koopman

Dr Mark Ashton

MBBS PhD (Queensland), FRACP

BA BSc (Hons) PhD (Melbourne)

BSc (Hons) PhD (Bath)

Professor Koopman was
appointed as Head of IMB’s
Molecular Genetics and
Development Division in
2006. In this role, he leads
a team of eight laboratory
heads and their research
teams, as well as leading his
own laboratory.

Dr Ashton was appointed
as UniQuest’s Manager,
Innovation and Commercial
Development (IMB) in 2012.
Following a restructure of
UniQuest in May 2013, Dr
Ashton was promoted to
Senior Director, Commercial
Engagement (Health), where
he is now responsible
for strengthening UQ’s
healthcare pipeline and
translating the university’s
research expertise and
intellectual property into
commercial outcomes.

Head, Molecular Cell
Biology Division

Professor Yap was
appointed as Head of IMB’s
Molecular Cell Biology
Division in 2008. In this role,
he leads a team of eight
laboratory heads and their
respective research teams,
as well as managing his own
laboratory.

Professor Ragan was
appointed as the founding
Head of IMB’s Genomics
and Computational Biology
Division in 2000. In this
role, he leads a team of five
laboratory heads and their
respective research teams,
as well as managing his own Professor Yap trained
laboratory.
as a physician and
endocrinologist at The
Professor Ragan completed University of Queensland
his undergraduate studies
and the Royal Brisbane
in biochemistry at the
Hospital, after which he
University of Chicago
completed a PhD in epithelial
and postgraduate studies
physiology at UQ. Before
in biology at Dalhousie
joining IMB, Professor Yap
University in Canada. Before was a CJ Martin Fellow at
joining IMB, Professor Ragan Memorial Sloan-Kettering
worked for more than 20
Cancer Center (New York)
years as a research scientist and a Wellcome Trust
for National Research
International Senior Medical
Council Canada, and for
Research Fellow (UQ).
six years as a Fellow of
the Canadian Institute for
Professor Yap is a National
Advanced Research’s
Health and Medical
Program in Evolutionary
Research Council (NHMRC)
Biology.
Principal Research Fellow.
He is an Associate Editor of
Professor Ragan is Director scientific journal Molecular
of the Australian Research
Biology of the Cell and
Council (ARC) Centre of
a member of nine other
Excellence in Bioinformatics editorial boards, including
and a co-founder of QFAB
Current Biology and
Bioinformatics.
Developmental Cell. In 2013,
he received the President’s
Medal of the Australia and
New Zealand Society for Cell
and Developmental Biology.

Professor Koopman
received a Bachelor of Arts
(Fine Arts and Dutch), a
Bachelor of Science with
Honours (Genetics), and
a PhD (Paediatrics) at The
University of Melbourne.
After this time, he spent
six years as a postdoctoral
researcher and staff
scientist with the Medical
Research Council in London,
where he was part of the
team that discovered the
Y-chromosome sexdetermining gene SRY.
He joined UQ’s Centre
for Molecular and Cellular
Biology (now IMB) in 1992.
Professor Koopman has
published more than 230
papers, is a member of five
scientific journal editorial
boards, and is a Fellow
and Council Member of
the Australian Academy of
Science.

Dr Ashton completed his
undergraduate studies in
chemistry, postgraduate
studies in medicinal
chemistry and postdoctoral
studies in the discovery
of new calcium channel
antagonists. Before joining
IMB, Dr Ashton was
Executive Vice President
(Business Development) of
European-based biotech
company, Evotec. Prior to
this, he was President of the
Drug Discovery Operations
Division at Evotec.
Dr Ashton has worked
within the biotech and
pharmaceutical industries for
almost 20 years, and serves
as a director of Australian
biotech companies Vaxxas
Pty Ltd, Helmedix Pty Ltd
and Dimerix Bioscience.

Medical genomics
Medical genomics allows patients to be diagnosed and treated on an individual level, based on
the data extracted from their personal genetic code.
Since the human genome was first sequenced around a decade ago, the speed of sequencing
has increased at a marked rate, while the cost has dropped dramatically. These factors
combined will ensure genomic knowledge continues to change the way medicine is practised.
Genomics has also proven its ability to improve the accuracy of diagnosis, reduce the cost
of genetic testing and improve public health, specifically by targeting lifestyle advice to those
whose genome sequences indicate they may be predisposed to certain diseases.
IMB’s focus on medical genomics is built on research excellence, technical capacity and
critical mass in genome sequencing, bioinformatic analysis, computational systems biology
and laboratory validation. This combination is unique in Australia and positions IMB as a world
leader in this emerging field.

Drug discovery
Compounds with the potential to prevent or treat disease are everywhere, including in bacteria,
plants and even the venom of spiders. But for this potential to be harnessed, an institution
requires the necessary level of expertise and equipment.
IMB houses some of the most advanced equipment in Australia for drug discovery, which
supports the world-class work of its researchers. Companies such as Pfizer, the world’s largest
research-based pharmaceutical company, have chosen to collaborate with IMB because of
its scientific expertise in modern drug discovery. IMB research has also led to many spin-out
companies, which are leading the way in translating their discoveries into tangible health and
economic outcomes for Australia.

Biotechnology
IMB differs from most, if not all, Australian biomedical institutes in that its investigative focus
extends beyond disease. The institute’s third research priority, biotechnology, reflects this.
While biotechnology does encompass medical applications, it also includes agricultural and
industrial uses.
Biotechnology refers to any technology that uses living organisms, or some component of
them, to develop or improve products or processes of value to the community. This technology
can be as simple as using yeast to make bread rise, or as advanced as the Human Genome
Project.
Biotechnology is a vital area of research that will provide the tools needed to solve the
challenges of supporting a growing global population. IMB researchers are working on projects
with the potential to improve health and agriculture and provide alternative fuel sources, both
now and into the future.

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

9

RESEARCH
HIGHLIGHTS

Professor Sean Grimmond

Professor Brandon Wainwright

Cancer
Revealing the genetic mutations in
30 common cancers
An international team, including scientists
from IMB and the Garvan Institute of
Medical Research, described the mutational
processes that drive tumour development in
30 of the most common cancer types. The
team analysed 7042 tumours and identified
21 distinct mutational signatures and the
cancer types in which they occur. The study,
published in leading scientific journal, Nature,
allowed the team to pinpoint the root genetic
cause of tumour development in common
cancers and, in some cancers, to identify
the biological process that damages the
DNA and gives rise to the cancer. These
findings could have potentially dramatic
implications for early diagnosis, treatment,
and particularly prevention in the future.
Pinpointing the genes behind
brain tumours
Professor Brandon Wainwright led a team
of researchers from Australia, Singapore,
Canada, the UK, and the US to pinpoint
56 genes that could drive the formation
of medulloblastoma, the most aggressive
and frequent form of brain tumours found
in children. The study, published in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences USA, found these newly identified
genes could provide potential targets for
treatment. The team is now searching for
existing drugs that may block these gene
networks and act as viable and less invasive
treatment alternatives for medulloblastoma.
New drug targets for breast cancer
Professor George Muscat led a team of
16 researchers from across Australia to
identify new markers and treatment targets
for women with breast cancer. The study,
published in Molecular Endocrinology,
compared the activity of a group of proteins
called nuclear receptors (NRs) in 116 samples
of normal breast tissue and tumours. The

10

Professor George Muscat

Dr Eivind Undheim (King Lab)

team found two NRs that are overactive
in breast tumours, and five whose activity
decreased as cell abnormality increased—all
of which could serve as drug targets. The
project also identified several NRs that act
as markers, including four that are significant
predictors of whether a patient who has been
treated with tamoxifen will survive diseasefree.
Switching off the spread of
breast cancer
Scientists from IMB and QIMR Berghofer
Medical Research Institute identified a
genetic ‘switch’ that indicates whether a
woman’s breast cancer will spread. Normally
this particular ribonucleic acid (RNA)
molecule acts like an ‘emergency brake’
in our genetic program, ensuring our cells
continue to reproduce normally. But the team
found this emergency brake fails in invasive,
aggressive tumours, meaning its absence in
cancer tests would be a clear marker that a
tumour is likely to spread. They also found
this microRNA to be missing in aggressive
liver, stomach, brain and skin cancers, and
potentially others, too.
Teaming up to treat aggressive
breast cancer
As part of the Queensland Emory
Development (QED) Alliance, Professor David
Fairlie, in collaboration with researchers
from QIMR Berghofer Medical Research
Institute and US-based Emory University in
Atlanta, Georgia, commenced work on a
collaborative project that aims to develop a
drug to treat a highly resistant form of breast
cancer. The multidisciplinary team’s expertise
spans biochemistry and high-throughput
screening (Emory University), preclinical
models of triple-negative breast cancer
(QIMR Berghofer), and medicinal chemistry
and drug design (IMB). Together, they are
investigating how to block a cancer pathway
responsible for poor prognosis in about 20
per cent of breast cancer patients who are
given existing cancer therapies.

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

Dr Irina Vetter (Lewis Lab)

Pain
Centipede venom could treat
chronic pain
Professor Glenn King, together with
researchers from UQ and the Chinese
Academy of Sciences, discovered a molecule
in centipede venom that has the potential
to be developed into a painkiller as effective
as morphine but without the side effects.
The molecule they found blocks the Nav1.7
channel in pain-sensing nerves. It selectively
targets this pain channel without impacting
closely related channels that play critical
roles in controlling the heart and muscles,
making it a promising drug candidate for
treating chronic pain and other conditions.
Using natural products to target
pain pathways
Dr Irina Vetter and Professor Richard Lewis
demonstrated for the first time how camphor
—a crystal-like substance sourced from
the camphor tree—affects nerve channels,
including pain-sensing channels that
determine how the body feels pain, in a study
published in The Journal of Neuroscience.
A further study, which was published in
leading scientific journal, Pain, revealed
the crucial role that the Nav1.6 nerve
channel plays in chemotherapy-induced
pain, a finding that could help to improve
quality of life for cancer patients receiving
chemotherapy treatments. These discoveries
were part of IMB’s extensive research
program into how natural products, such as
cone snail venom, can be used to find new
treatments for chronic pain, which affects
one in five Australians.
In addition to their work with natural
products, Professor Lewis and Dr Vetter
are also collaborating with Australian-based
biotech, Audeo Discovery Pty Ltd, to identify
compounds active in pain pathways with the
potential to become drug leads.

treatments. The company is headquartered
at Menlo Park, California, US, and has
discovery operations at IMB and Menlo Park.

Tackling drug-resistant tuberculosis

Landmark discovery paves the way for
a new class of low-cost medicines

Professor Matt Cooper led a team of
infectious disease experts to develop new
drug candidates to improve and hopefully
replace current tuberculosis (TB) treatments,
which consist of four drugs that must be
taken for six to nine months to be effective.
With many bacteria developing resistance
to multiple TB drugs, new drugs are needed
to reduce drug treatment time, improve
patient cure rates, contain TB’s spread and
potentially save millions of lives.
Using zinc to starve lethal bacteria
and stop infection
Professor Matt Cooper and a team of
infectious disease researchers found how
zinc can ‘starve’ one of the world’s most
deadly microbes by preventing its uptake
of manganese, an essential metal microbes
need to invade and cause disease in
humans. The finding, published in Nature
Chemical Biology, opens the way for further
work to design antibacterial agents in the
fight against Streptococcus pneumonia.
These bacteria are responsible for more than
one million deaths each year by causing
pneumonia, meningitis, and other serious
infectious diseases in humans.
Spin-out biotech secures funding
for drug discovery
IMB spin-out biotech company, Protagonist
Therapeutics, founded by Associate
Professor Mark Smythe, raised $18 million
of venture capital funding to progress its
drug discovery research into developing oral
drugs for diseases whose current treatments
must be injected, including inflammatory
bowel diseases and other gastro-intestinal
disorders. Oral treatments tend to be safer,
more effective, more convenient, and more
affordable for patients and the healthcare
system in comparison to injectable

Professor David Fairlie’s lab has pioneered
a much sought-after drug development
technique that reduces large proteins
to small molecules suitable for use as
drugs. The result was a smaller, more
bioavailable version of a powerful human
inflammatory protein—complement protein
C3a—that helps defend against disease.
The finding, which was published in Nature
Communications, could open up exciting
new avenues for chemists to downsize
valuable human proteins and obtain
affordable new diagnostics and drugs for a
range of diseases.
Inflammation research awarded
Dr Kate Schroder won a Tall Poppy award for
her research into understanding the innate
immune system, the body’s front-line weapon
against invading microbes. The body defends
itself by mounting inflammatory responses,
which underpin our ability to resist or fight
infectious diseases. But these responses can
be triggered inappropriately. Dr Schroder’s
research is helping to understand exactly
how the body fights infection, and providing
insight into the mechanisms behind the
unhealthy inflammation that occurs in
common diseases such as diabetes.
IMB researchers identify possible
target for anti-inflammatory drugs

Obesity and diabetes
Drug lead shows promise as
potential treatment for obesity
Professor David Fairlie led a team of
Queensland researchers to discover a new
anti-inflammatory compound that prevents
rats on a high-fat, high-sugar diet from
becoming obese, preventing many of the
detrimental health effects associated with
obesity. The work—published in one of the
world’s most cited biology journals, The
FASEB Journal—provides strong evidence
that drugs designed to treat inflammatory
diseases may also be able to prevent and
treat obesity, a finding the team hopes to
pursue further in future clinical trials.
Making safer drugs to treat
type 2 diabetes
Professor Matt Cooper and Dr Avril
Robertson received funding from the
Australia-India Strategic Research Fund
to develop new molecules that modulate
the body’s immune response to treat
inflammatory diseases, including type 2
diabetes. Current drugs on the market for
type 2 diabetes can cause side effects;
so safer, more effective drugs are urgently
needed. Together with scientists at the Indian
Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad,
and Trinity College Dublin, they will work to
advance their findings towards new drug
leads to help tackle diabetes. Diabetes is
one of the fastest growing chronic diseases
in Australia, and affects more than 63 million
people in India.

Associate Professor Matt Sweet led a
team that identified histone deacetylase 7
(HDAC7) as a protein that drives inflammatory
responses in macrophages, cells that
alert the body to signs of danger. When
macrophages are activated inappropriately
they can drive inflammatory diseases,
meaning HDAC7 could represent a viable
target for future anti-inflammatory drugs.

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

11

RESEARCH
HIGHLIGHTS

Dr Michael Pearen
(Muscat Lab)

Dr Ryan Taft (second from right)
with his team

Massimo Damiani

Obesity and diabetes
(continued)
Key protein determines exercise
capacity and metabolism
Professor George Muscat, Dr Michael Pearen
and Joel Goode demonstrated that when
activated in skeletal muscle cells, the nuclear
hormone receptor Nor-1 plays key roles in
the body. These roles include regulating fat
metabolism; increasing physical endurance;
stimulating the growth of mitochondria,
which produce the energy that powers nearly
all cellular activity; decreasing the amount
of fat stored in the body; and inducing
resistance to diet-induced obesity and weight
gain. The research team also identified that
Nor-1 regulates the expression of genes in
the body, including alpha actinin, which is a
protein associated with polymorphisms in
humans, and is linked to changes in exercise
capacity, strength, and metabolism. These
genes and cellular pathways could prove
effective as future drug targets for type 2
diabetes and obesity.

Childhood diseases
Mystery disease solved by
genetic experts
Dr Ryan Taft led a global team of researchers
to identify the gene behind young Massimo
Damiani’s rare paediatric brain disorder.
Dr Taft analysed the genome sequences
of Massimo—who was diagnosed with
leukodystrophy—and his parents using a
method called whole-genome sequencing,
and found that a mutation in the DARS gene
was likely causing his disorder.
The research team then examined the
genomes of nine other children from around
the world who appeared to be suffering from
the same disease, and the genomes of their
parents, and confirmed that they all had the
same mutations in the DARS gene. Their
discovery was published in the American

12

Mini-kidney in a dish

Professor
Melissa Little

Journal of Human Genetics (AJHG), where
they named their newly discovered disease
HBSL because it causes Hypomyelination
in the Brain stem and Spinal cord leading to
Leg spasticity.
The team also used genomics to identify
the genetic mutation responsible for
another leukodystrophy, H-ABC, which was
published in the same issue of AJHG. Dr
Taft’s work made headlines around Australia
and featured in an episode of ABC TV’s
Australian Story (‘Cracking the Code’, aired
21/10/13), which was viewed by more than
1.2 million people.
Reprogramming cells to repair
damaged kidneys
In a landmark discovery published in
the Journal of the American Society of
Nephrology, Professor Melissa Little
reprogrammed adult tissue cells to act as
stem cells to repair damaged kidneys.
The team identified six key genes that can
prompt some types of adult kidney cells to
regress to an earlier stage of development
and act like the precursors to the cells of
the nephron. Nephrons filter the blood as it
passes through the kidneys, with damage to
the nephrons causing kidney disease.
All nephrons are formed before birth and
people with fewer nephrons are at higher
risk of kidney disease. By forcing adult cells
to act like early nephron cells, the research
team has potentially found a way to trigger
the growth of new filters and reduce the risk
of disease progression.
Rates of kidney disease in Australia
continue to increase, fuelled by an ageing
population, increased rates of obesity and
diabetes, and declining access to organs for
transplantation.
Growing a kidney from stem cells
In a further bioengineering breakthrough,
Professor Little and her lab grew a minikidney in a dish using stem cells, work

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

Professor
Peter Koopman

Associate Professor
Carol Wicking

published in Nature Cell Biology. The team
designed a protocol that prompts stem cells
to form all the required cell types to ‘selforganise’ and create the complex structures
that exist within an organ, in this case, the
kidney.
The discovery could lead to improved
treatments for patients with kidney disease,
and might also be a powerful tool to identify
drug candidates that may be harmful to the
kidney before these reach clinical trials.
Unravelling the secrets of maleness
Professor Peter Koopman, in collaboration
with Japanese scientists, identified the
key to becoming male is an enzyme that
‘unravels’ DNA to trigger male development
of the embryo, a discovery that may give
greater insight into intersex disorders. The
fundamental discovery, published in leading
journal, Science, built on the knowledge
that a specific Y-chromosome gene known
as SRY is responsible for ‘switching on’
maleness genes. Importantly, it also found
that the DNA containing SRY needed to be
unwound before the gene could become
active.
Key genes discovered behind
Jeune syndrome
Associate Professor Carol Wicking and
colleagues from UQ’s Diamantina Institute
and Centre for Clinical Research, and
University College London, identified two
new genes behind Jeune syndrome, a
devastating inherited disease in which
severe bone deformities lead to profound
breathing difficulties and can sometimes
lead to respiratory failure soon after birth.
The discovery, published in the American
Journal of Human Genetics, will improve
genetic counselling for families affected by
this disease, and may ultimately help improve
the treatment of features associated with this
disease and the broader class of disorders
known as ciliopathies.

In April, Queensland Premier, The Hon
Campbell Newman MP, opened IMB’s
Solar Biofuels Research Centre (SBRC), an
advanced biofuels pilot plant designed to
develop microalgae-based systems as a
source of clean fuel.
The SBRC was developed in partnership
with the Queensland Government, KBR Inc.,
Neste Oil Corp., Cement Australia Pty Ltd,
Siemens, and Bielefeld University and the
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany.
Researchers leading the $3.5 million project
are working alongside industry to develop
economically viable and sustainable methods
of producing biofuels and other bioproducts,
such as animal feeds. Their ultimate aim
is to develop sustainable biofuels that can
compete with fossil fuels dollar for dollar.
Algae proves fresh for
scientific discovery
Dr Evan Stephens from the Solar Biofuels
Research Centre trialled native algae species
in the hope of developing commercially
viable fuels from algae. In collaboration with
Professor Ben Hankamer and researchers
from Germany’s Bielefeld University and
the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Dr
Stephens identified fast-growing and hardy
microscopic algae that could prove the key
to cheaper and more efficient alternative
fuel production. Dr Stephens shared this
work with the community as a finalist in the
national science communication competition,
Fresh Science.

A team of Australian and New Zealand
researchers, led by Dr Michael Landsberg,
investigated the workings of Yersinia
entomophaga, a bacterium that kills a range
of insect species, including the diamondback
moth, which are known to cause major crop
damage worldwide.
The team discovered a molecular assembly
manual that bacterial and animal cells use
to manufacture generic canisters and store
toxic or sensitive molecules. The bacterium
can release the toxins from their canister on
demand, which kills the target insect. Their
findings, published in Nature, could lead to a
possible new bioinsecticide to control crop
pests.
Spider venom targets insect pests
Professor Glenn King and Dr Maggie Hardy
found a natural component of Australian
tarantula venom that is more potent
against certain insect pests than existing
chemical insecticides. The orally active toxin
known as OAIP-1 is lethal if eaten by the
cotton bollworm or termites, and could be
developed into an environmentally friendly
insecticide.
The work, published in PLOS ONE,
could help meet the urgent need for new
insecticides, due to insects becoming
resistant to existing products and others
being deregistered because of possible risks
to human health and the environment.

Biofertiliser boosts sustainable
sugarcane farming
Professor Mark Ragan and Dr Chanyarat
Paungfoo-Lonhienne, along with colleagues
from IMB, UQ’s School of Agriculture and
Food Sciences, and UQ’s Australian Centre
for Ecogenomics, have identified a new
species of bacterium that could reduce the
need for nitrogen fertiliser in cane farming.
The study, conducted in partnership with
the local sugar industry and published in
Microbial Biotechnology, could help deliver
the nutrients crops need with increased
sustainability and at a lower cost.
The process the research team used
identified both a potential biofertiliser for
Queensland sugarcane, and a useful method
for developing bacterial biofertilisers for
different varieties of sugarcane around the
world.
Industry collaborations
boosted by funding
Two agricultural projects from IMB were
boosted by funding from the Australian
Research Council that will facilitate
collaborations with industry partners.
Professor Rob Capon will team with Eli Lilly
Australia to develop antiparasitic agents
to safeguard Australian livestock, while
Professor David Craik and Dr Aaron Poth will
join Innovate Ag Pty Ltd in developing ecofriendly alternatives to manage crop pests.

IMBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chemistry and Structural
Biology Division conducts pure,
strategic and applied research in
organic and medicinal chemistry,
structural biology, biochemistry,
pharmacology, virology, bacteriology,
and biotechnology.
IMB scientists discover, design and synthesise new compounds,
investigate the molecular and structural basis of physiology and
disease, and invent new treatments to improve health.
Researchers within the division have expertise throughout the
drug discovery pipeline and work together with academic and
industry partners around the world to make important contributions
towards understanding and treating a range of human diseases
and conditions. These include: cancer; chronic pain; inflammatory,
cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases; obesity and
type 2 diabetes; and bacterial, viral and parasitic infections. Our
researchers are also working to develop more effective agricultural
products and more efficient clean energy production systems.
During 2013, the division supported research in the
following areas:
ff chemistry and human therapeutics
ff protein structure in drug and insecticide design
ff bio-inspired design of solar fuel systems
ff molecular biodiscovery: learning from nature
ff drugs and diagnostics for superbugs, viruses and cancer
ff antibiotic discovery, understanding insulin signalling and protein
structure
ff design and discovery of bioactive peptides and proteins in
venomous animals

14

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

ff pharmacology of marine toxins
ff combinatorial chemistry and molecular design.
The division uses advanced technologies in NMR spectroscopy;
protein crystallography; computational design; chemical synthesis;
protein and cell activation and signalling; tissue analysis; and
rodent pharmacology.
Major funders of the division include the National Health and
Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council,
Queensland Government, US National Institutes of Health and
industry partners.

PROFESSOR
david Fairlie
Chemistry
and human
therapeutics
Our researchers work at the interface of chemistry and biology
to better understand the molecular mechanisms of life, ageing,
disease and death.
Our chemists study medicinal chemistry, organic synthesis, and
computer-aided drug design; use nuclear magnetic resonance
(NMR) spectroscopy to investigate the structure and dynamics of
proteins; and learn how small molecules interact with other small
molecules, proteins, RNA and DNA. They discover new chemical
structures, reactions and mechanisms; enzyme inhibitors, agonists
and antagonists; and molecules that mimic the structures and
functions of bioactive protein surfaces.
Our biologists use these novel compounds to explain the functions
of human proteins and cells, and apply them to treat animal models
of human diseases. They study mechanisms of protein and cell
activation, biological processes, disease development and drug
action.
Scientists within our laboratory combine their expertise across
these fields to gain insights into human physiology and disease
pathology, and develop skills in biochemistry, pharmacology,
virology, immunology, oncology or neurobiology. They are working,
in some cases with industry partners, to discover new drugs
and treatments for: viral and parasite infections, such as HIV,
dengue fever and malaria; inflammatory diseases, such as arthritis
and inflammatory bowel disease; metabolic and cardiovascular
diseases resulting from obesity and type 2 diabetes; cancers; and
neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and stroke.
During the year, we pioneered a new method to downsize proteins
to small molecules with protein-like functions and potencies. This
discovery can help researchers discover affordable new medicines.
Our lab also shown that the presence of an inflammatory protein
called PAR2 in abdominal fat tissue of humans and rats correlates
with obesity. Drugs that bound to this inflammatory protein were
able to prevent and treat diet-induced obesity in rats.
Furthermore, as part of the Queensland Emory Development
Alliance, we began a formal collaboration with colleagues at
QIMR Berghofer, Brisbane, and Emory University, Atlanta, US,
to investigate how to block a pathway responsible for intractable
forms of breast cancer, potentially leading to a new cancer therapy.

PROFESSOR
david craik
Protein
structure
in drug and
insecticide design
Peptides and proteins play a vital role in almost every cellular
process in living organisms. Our research discovers and
determines the structural information of peptides and proteins to
design drugs to more effectively treat human disease and develop
natural protein-based insecticides to protect Australian food and
fibre crops.
We use protein engineering to modify proteins by grafting new
biologically active peptide sequences onto them. We also stabilise
proteins through cyclisation, a process where the head and tail
ends of the protein chain are joined together to make a circular
protein. Circular proteins are exceptionally stable and we have
modelled our protein engineering studies on naturally occurring

proteins known as cyclotides that we discovered in plants.
We undertake fieldwork in Australia and overseas for the collection
of plant species so we can explore the diversity and evolution of
the cyclotide family of plant proteins. We have chemically reengineered cyclotides under development for the treatment of
multiple sclerosis, cardiovascular disease, cancer and chronic pain.
We also study the structures of a range of toxins from cone snails,
spiders and snakes, and use this information to understand their
mode of action against ion channels and other receptors involved
in the pain pathway.
During the past 12 months, we have used a range of medicinal
chemistry techniques to determine the structures of biologically
active molecules and identify functional regions of these molecules
to exploit in drug design and development. In particular, we have
developed structure-activity relationships for a number of novel
conotoxins with potential to be used as leads in drug design
programs. We have also demonstrated that natural cyclotides can
be adapted or re-engineered for pharmaceutical applications, and
we have further defined structure-activity relationships for a class
of mammalian host defence peptides called theta-defensins. This
work has been reported in 34 refereed articles published during
2013, including commentaries in high-profile journals, Angewandte
Chemie International Edition and Nature Chemistry.

PROFESSOR
Ben hankamer
Bio-inspired
design of solar
fuel systems
One of the biggest global challenges facing society today is our
need to develop more efficient and commercially viable renewable
energy systems, which can improve energy security and reduce
our dependence on fossil fuels. Our work aims to contribute to
meeting this challenge, and we have turned to nature to help us do
this.
Solar energy is by far the largest renewable energy source available
to us—particularly in Australia—and has the potential to both meet
and exceed future global energy demands. Our team is focused
on developing solar fuel technologies that are able to tap into this
huge solar energy resource and use it to produce a wide range of
fuels, such as hydrogen, methane and oil-based fuels, including
transport fuels.
The natural photosynthetic machinery of plants has evolved to
capture solar energy and store it in the form of chemical energy
(fuel). Plants that are very good at this are single-celled green algae
(microalgae), which we use as a model natural fuel system and
inspiration for developing next-generation bio-inspired artificial
solar fuel technologies.
During 2013, our lab investigated the complex in vivo structure
of the dynamic photosystems of plants through a multi-scale
approach, using electron tomography (cellular structures), single
particle analysis (macromolecular structures), and crystallographic
data (atomic resolution structures). By merging these data sets,
our aim is to produce a pseudo-atomic resolution model of these
intricate and dynamic systems in their cellular context. This cellular
3D atlas will be used to guide and refine the design of higher
efficiency algae-based and artificial solar energy systems that we
hope will, in future, be able to contribute to meeting renewable fuel
demand.
A major achievement for our lab in 2013 was launching our
advanced Solar Biofuels Research Centre, located at UQ’s Pinjarra
Hills site in Brisbane. The centre, which was officially opened
by Premier Campbell Newman in April, provides an advanced
microalgae facility where our lab will design and test microalgaebased systems as a source of clean fuels, and develop new ways
to optimise production systems. These systems are also of benefit
for the production of high-value products such as vaccines.

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

15

PROFESSOR
Rob Capon
Molecular
biodiscovery:
learning from
nature
Natural products are a hidden and almost limitless molecular
resource that, with the right combination of expertise and
technology, can be found in animals, plants and microbes. Modern
societies have come to rely heavily on natural products, for
example, as pharmaceuticals to treat infection, cancer, pain and
other illnesses; and as agricultural chemicals to control disease
and improve productivity in crops and livestock.
Our research is leading the discovery of Australian natural
products, and is one of only a few laboratories in the world
specialising in marine and microbial biodiversity. The knowledge
that we discover informs our understanding of the role of
chemicals in nature, and inspires the development of valuable new
pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and more.
Together, with a network of academic and industry collaborators,
we are exploring the application of new natural products to treat
an array of human diseases, including tuberculosis, malaria,
Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, cancer, pain and obesity; as well as agrochemical
challenges, including parasitic infections in sheep, goats, and
cows. We are also applying our skills to better understand the
chemical ecology of the cane toad, to develop a means to control
this invasive pest that is poisoning many of Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s native
predator species, including quolls, lizards, snakes and crocodiles.
During 2013, we patented a new environmentally sustainable
cane toad control solution utilising natural toad pheromones, and
a new class of anthelmintic effective against multidrug-resistant
gastrointestinal nematode infections in sheep. Both discoveries
have attracted significant industry interest, and we hope to
progress these opportunities in the near future. We are also
working on developing natural product-inspired treatments for
pancreatic cancer, chronic inflammatory pain, tuberculosis and
malaria.

PROFESSOR
Matt Cooper
Drugs and
diagnostics for
superbugs, viruses
and cancer
We believe we can more effectively treat patients by improving
the way we understand and diagnose disease. Our research is
aimed at discovering new ways of detecting and treating bacterial
infections, inflammatory disease and cancer. We are designing and
developing novel antibiotics active against drug-resistant bacteria,
known as superbugs. The alarming growth of superbugs, coupled
with the paucity of companies working in this area, gives impetus
to this research and our work to inform the community of these
important health issues through the media.
We also work on tuberculosis and dengue fever, diseases
responsible for millions of deaths in the developing world. Our
research is leading to new ways to diagnose infections caused by
bacteria and viruses, and a deeper understanding of the molecular
mechanisms that lead to the evolution and spread of drug
resistance.

16

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

Many of our researchers have significant experience in both
academia and industry, with past projects leading to products on
the market today. We collaborate with government agencies and
pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies in
Australia, Asia, the UK and the US. We have a strong translational
focus and aim to deliver innovative solutions for unmet medical
needs in the community.
During the past 12 months, we have gained a deeper
understanding of the role of gut biota, which are the bacteria that
live in our digestive system, and how this affects inflammation in
the development of diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease, diabetes and cancer. This basic research helps
us to develop new methods to diagnose and more effectively treat
patients affected by these complex and deadly diseases.
Furthermore, in partnership with more than 12 laboratories
worldwide, we are designing and developing new molecules to
target the interface between infection and our immune systemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
response that leads to acute and chronic inflammatory disease.

PROFESSOR
Jenny Martin
Antibiotic
discovery,
understanding
insulin signalling,
protein structure and
drug design
Our research aims to understand the role of proteins in disease and
to develop novel drugs that target these disease-causing proteins
in bacterial and viral infection, type 2 diabetes and inflammation.
We investigate proteins and their inhibitors using a range of
biophysical techniques including: protein crystallography; smallangle scattering; chemical cross-linking; mass spectrometry and
structure-based approaches for inhibitor design.
Of particular interest to our research is bacterial disulfide bond
(Dsb) forming proteins, which are master regulators of virulence
and key targets for the development of antibacterial agents that
inhibit the ability of bacterial pathogens to cause disease. We
are developing a library of Dsb protein structures from human
pathogens as a resource for structure-based drug design.
We are targeting structures of the soluble protein DsbA and its
integral membrane protein partner DsbB in a range of invasive
pathogens affecting humans and animals, including Klebsiella
pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Vibrio cholerae, and
Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
We are also working in collaboration with other leading Australian
researchers to develop inhibitors of these proteins using a
multi-pronged approach, including fragment screening, in silico
screening and peptidomimetic design. From these investigations,
we are developing a new class of antibacterial that may be useful
in treating infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria and
combating the growing global threat of antimicrobial resistance.
Our lab also works on diabetes, focusing on proteins that help
regulate blood glucose levels in response to insulin signalling.
Through collaborations in Australia and the US we are also
unravelling the dynamic interactions induced by insulin binding
to muscle and fat cells. This research aims to identify what
goes wrong in diabetes, and in the long term may lead to new
therapeutics to treat this devastating disease.

PROFESSOR
Paul Alewood
Design and
discovery of
bioactive peptides
and proteins in venomous
animals
Our research focuses on identifies and develops bioactive
molecules from Australia’s venomous animals that have the
potential to create treatments for chronic pain, heart disease,
inflammation, irritable bowel syndrome, and breast cancer.
Although toxins from these animals can have a devastating effect,
molecules within them have been found to be useful in treating
human disease. Specifically, we are interested in the discovery
and total synthesis of potent and selective peptides (toxins)
from venomous animals, and their development into therapeutic
candidates to treat a range of diseases.
Recently, our lab has investigated druggable receptors in the gut,
and ways to reduce protease degradation and disulfide bond
rearrangements in drug candidates. Our lab recently described a
mouse model of chronic abdominal pain where oxytocin receptors
are significantly upregulated in nociceptors (pain receptors) without
affecting normal tissue, which is an important advantage in drug
development.
During the past 12 months, we developed novel chemical
strategies to engineer non-reducible and more stable oxytocin
analogues, which may be developed as treatments for irritable
bowel syndrome. Chemoselective selenide macrocyclisation
yielded stabilised analogues equipotent to native oxytocin. Ultrahigh-field nuclear magnetic resonance structural analysis of native
oxytocin and the seleno-oxytocin derivatives revealed that oxytocin
has a pre-organised structure in solution, in marked contrast to
earlier X-ray crystallography studies.

PROFESSOR
richard lewis
Pharmacology
of marine toxins
Our research explores the mechanisms of how the body feels pain
and uses this knowledge to develop new drugs to combat chronic
pain. To do this, we study conotoxins, which are small peptides
from predatory marine snails that are very active in pain pathways
and could provide the basis for a new class of pain management
drugs with fewer side effects.
These mini proteins act selectively at a wide range of ion channels,
receptors and transporters found in the membranes of cells. This
research starts with the discovery of new venom peptides, the
synthesis of these peptides, studying their effects on tissues and
receptors, cellular imaging of functional effects, through to finally
co-crystal structures and docking models revealing how the
peptide binds to its target.
Several conotoxins discovered by our scientists have been taken
into the clinic, including Xen2174 for severe pain. In addition, we
are studying how another class of marine toxins called ciguatoxins
produce the debilitating disease known as ciguatera.
During the past 12 months, we have discovered new mechanism
of peptide diversification through processing and transcriptomic
messiness; identified peripherally analgesic ω-conotoxins, which
are being developed as a new pain treatment, and defined a key
role of potassium channels in the activity of nerves associated
with cold pain. In addition, we have worked closely with industry
partners to develop our novel findings, supported with the award of
two new ARC Linkage grants to investigate spider toxins and small
molecule blockers of sodium channels in pain pathways.

Finally, we showed that these seleno-oxytocin analogues potently
inhibit colonic nociceptors both in vitro and in vivo in mice with
chronic visceral hypersensitivity, which mostly affects the gut. This
research has important implications for clinical use of oxytocin
analogues and cysteine-rich peptides in general.

“Translatable
discovery research is
essential in furthering
our understanding
of disease and
developing better
treatments to help
improve quality of life
and survival rates for
those affected.”

Professor Brandon Wainwright, Director

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

17

PROFESSOR
Glenn king
Bugs and drugs
Our research harnesses the chemistry
of venoms from arthropod predators,
such as spiders, scorpions and centipedes, to develop novel
pharmaceuticals to treat chronic pain and stroke. Stroke is the
second-leading cause of death worldwide. In addition, it causes an
extremely high incidence of disability in surviving victims due to the
brain damage suffered during stroke. Likewise, chronic pain is a
huge medical problem that affects one in five adults. There are few
drugs available for treating chronic pain, and many of these have
limited efficacy and dose-limiting side effects.
Animal venoms are a rich source of stable natural peptides
that potently modulate the activity of a wide range of neuronal
ion channels and receptors. We have the largest collection
of arthropod venoms in the world, a high-throughput pipeline
for venoms-based drug discovery, protocols for rapid protein
expression and structure determination, and links to key
laboratories for testing the efficacy of lead molecules in rodent
models of pain and stroke. We are using these world-class
resources to move us closer to achieving our aim of developing
novel analgesics for pain relief and novel neuroprotective agents for
treating stroke victims.
An equally important focus of our research is on helping to
safeguard Australia’s agricultural crops and reduce the spread
of disease from insect pests by discovering new environmentally
friendly insecticides. Currently, arthropod pests destroy
approximately 15 per cent of the world’s food supply and spread
pernicious diseases such as dengue and malaria. Our work is
finding better, safer ways to control disease-spreading pests and
protect crops.
During 2013 we reported the first orally active insecticidal toxin
isolated from spider venom, with potential for the control of insect
pests. We also reported a novel peptide isolated from centipede
venom that proved to be a more potent painkiller than morphine in
a variety of rodent pain models.

Associate
professor
mark smythe
Combinatorial
chemistry and
molecular design
Our research focuses on advancing drug design and synthetic,
organic and peptide chemistry to discover novel drug candidates.
We apply these design and discovery methodologies to discover
new drugs to treat unmet medical needs or provide better
therapeutic solutions to existing marketed drugs.
In 2013, we have achieved efficacy in an in vivo model of iron
disease; achieved desired selectivity profile for a potential pain
therapeutic; optimised an anti-asthma candidate; and achieved
compelling in vivo data for a once-a-week injectable anti-IL-6
antagonist.
We have several applied projects pursuing constrained peptides to
modulate difficult or undruggable targets for inflammatory bowel
disease. Specifically, we are pursuing clinically validated targets
serviced by marketed antibody drugs that are currently available
as injectable treatments. We plan to replace these treatments with
orally delivered constrained peptide alternatives, which will deliver
more effective, affordable and non-invasive drugs.
Our projects are multidisciplinary and focus on achieving medical
outcomes. Several of them involve partnerships with industry. They
range from technology development and early drug discovery
to preclinical drug candidate selection. Using a combination of
mathematics, software development, drug design, medicinal
chemistry, pharmacology, structural biology and phage display, we
are developing new approaches to treat asthma, leukaemia and
inflammatory bowel disease. Moreover, in our structural biology
studies, we are using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR)
spectroscopy to study the structure and dynamics of proteins
using a suite of new chemical probes.
We continue to purse late-stage preclinical optimisation for several
drug candidates in diverse therapeutic areas such as asthma, pain,
iron overload disorders, and inflammatory bowel disease.

“Arthropod pests, such as
insects, ticks, and mites are
responsible for destroying
one-third of the world’s food
supply, as well as transmitting
a diverse array of human and
animal diseases.
We hope our work will go
a long way in safeguarding
agricultural crops and
preventing the spread of
disease here and around the
world.”
US biology graduate Cecilia Prator (pictured)
joined IMB’s King Lab in 2012–13 on a Fulbright
Postgraduate Scholarship

18

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

Glasshouse Mountains by Dr Alejandra Gallardo-Godoy (Cooper Lab) gives us an insight into a
chemistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s view of a landscape made of glass Pasteur pipettes. Dr Gallardo-Godoyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s photograph
(pictured here) was awarded 2nd place in the 2013 Merck Millipore International Arts Festival.

Scientists in IMBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Genomics and
Computational Biology Division
apply approaches based on
mathematics, statistics, computer
science, and bioinformatics to unlock
new knowledge from the endless
information buried in biological
big data.

The division hosts the Australian Research Centre (ARC) Centre
of Excellence in Bioinformatics and QCMG. Its researchers also
actively participate in the teaching and learning activities of UQâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
Schools of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Information
Technology and Electrical Engineering, and Mathematics and
Physics. In 2013, division staff successfully organised the annual
Winter School in Mathematical and Computational Biology, which
attracted almost 300 students, postdoctoral researchers and
other professionals working in fields ranging from engineering to
chemical and medical sciences.

These valuable insights help the division to understand the
molecular structures, functions and regulation of genomes in
mammals, vertebrates, bacteria and plants, which has applications
in human health and environmental management.

Major funders of the division include the National Health and
Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council,
Queensland Government, US National Institutes of Health,
James S. McDonnell Foundation, and industry partners.

Many leading technologies are used to help the division advance
discovery in these fields, with on-site facilities for large-scale DNA
sequencing, computing and data management.

ff Professor Mark Ragan

ff computational systems biology

ff Associate Professor Tim Bailey

ff population genomics

ff Dr Lachlan Coin

ff Queensland Centre for Medical Genomics (QCMG)

ff Professor Sean Grimmond

ff rare childhood diseases

ff Dr Nick Hamilton

ff modelling, visualisation and classification of bioimaging

ff Dr Ryan Taft

ff pattern recognition and modelling in computational biology.

20

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

Professor
Mark ragan
Computational
systems biology
The structure, function and fate of living cells are determined by
complex networks of interactions among biomolecules. These
networks cannot be observed directly, but must be reverseengineered from genome-scale data. Our research develops and
applies approaches based on mathematics, statistics, computer
science and bioinformatics to infer and analyse these networks from
individual data samples or patients.
We are particularly interested in understanding how networks of
gene regulation differ between normal and cancerous states. We
collaborate with biologists and clinicians on projects investigating
breast cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer and prostate
cancer. Likewise, the spread of drug resistance and virulence among
infectious-disease bacteria can be drawn as a graph and studied
mathematically. Using high-performance computers, we identify
features of these networks that help us understand and predict
properties of cells, organisms and communities.
Our research in computational systems biology of mammalian
cells will extend the power of genome-scale sequencing, including
personal genomics, to help understand normal developmental
processes and to design systems-level intervention in chronic disease
and cancer.
During the past 12 months, we developed and applied computational
approaches to discover the backup systems that cells use to repair
damage to their DNA. These backup pathways can differ between
cancerous and normal cells, and we are applying these approaches
to discover novel ways to target breast cancer cells with minimal risk
to normal healthy cells.
The international Sea-quence Project aims to generate core genetic
data from the Great Barrier Reef and coral reefs in the Red Sea.
As part of this collaboration, we began to assemble and analyse
genomes of Symbiodinium, the algal symbiont in corals. Our goal
is to identify the gene systems and mechanisms that underpin
and stabilise this symbiosis, to assist in improving coral health and
managing reef ecosystems.
Finally, we extended our studies of bacterial genomes to the
communities associated with roots of sugarcane. In partnership with
fellow UQ scientists, we identified a new soil bacterium, which under
controlled conditions, promotes the growth of sugarcane. We then
sequenced the genome of this bacterium to investigate its potential to
supply nitrogen compounds to sugarcane.

Dr lachlan
coin
population
genomics
During the first decade of the 21st century, sequencing of a single
reference genome from multiple animal and plant species provided
a tremendous amount of information about eukaryotic genome
structure, function and evolution. Now, in the second decade,
technological developments allow affordable population sequencing
of thousands of genomes per species. Moreover, it is now possible
to sequence not just the genome, but also the epigenome and
transcriptome of different cell populations at different points in time,
enabling use of this technology to profile important physiological
processes.

Our research focuses on integrative population genomics, where
we develop and apply statistical approaches to extract information
from high-throughput population sequence data. In particular, we are
interested in mapping the impact of structural variation on disease
risk. We have developed population modelling approaches to improve
detection and genotyping of indels, copy number variation (CNV), and
tandem repeat variation.
We apply these tools to understand the genetic basis of common
diseases including: metabolic disease, such as obesity and type
2 diabetes; autoimmune diseases, such as psoriasis, rheumatoid
arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus; and susceptibility to
infectious disease. We have previously identified rare deletions and
duplications associated with extreme obesity and also common
deletions associated with obesity and variation in lipid levels.
Our team uses integrative genomics approaches to profile the
genome, transcriptome and proteome from the acute to recovery
stage of disease in order to identify rapid, cheap biomarkers for both
early-stage disease diagnosis and prognosis and also to understand
biological pathways that are active during disease.
Using this approach, we have recently identified transcriptomic
and proteomic signatures that can distinguish active tuberculosis
infection from other disease in HIV-positive adults in Africa. Moreover,
we have developed an accurate test for diagnosing tuberculosis in
children, which we hope to translate into an affordable, point-ofcare diagnostic. Finally, we have also used transcriptional profiling
of T cells—white blood cells that play a role in immunity—and their
response to allergens to identify new pathways involved in allergies,
and determine how we can potentially control these pathways to treat
allergies.

PROFESSOR
Sean Grimmond
Queensland
Centre for
Medical Genomics
One in two Australians will develop cancer before the age of 85, and
one in five will die from the disease, making cancer an important
national health priority area. Our research at the Queensland Centre
for Medical Genomics (QCMG) aims to discover the process for how
normal cells transform into cancer cells, one patient at a time. From
this information, we can then help to choose drugs and treatments to
treat each individual, not just their cancer type.
To achieve this, we survey genomic and gene activity information, as
well as how non-genetic factors influence physical traits, using highthroughput genomic sequencing and microarrays. The combined
data sets are then integrated to enable us to define the molecular
networks controlling biological processes, such as cell division and
specialisation; and disease states, including cancers of the pancreas,
prostate, bowel, brain, ovary and breast. This systems-wide approach
will provide the means to identify key genes driving specific physical
traits and enable us to model the different layers of control guiding
biological states.
During the past 12 months, we led an international team of more
than 100 researchers working as part of the International Cancer
Genome Consortium to conduct the most comprehensive surveys of
the genetic damage accumulated by pancreatic and ovarian cancers.
We have used these large datasets, or cancer atlases, to mine out
the root causes of cancer formation in more than 300 tumours,
and provide insights—which we have shared with the research
community—into the variability of patient response to chemotherapy.
During the coming year as we complete these cancer atlases, we will
start to investigate the commonalities of solid cancer initiation and
progression. We will also move towards using genome-wide analyses
to investigate how cancers progress from early lesions to invasive
disease and how they evolve to overcome standard cancer therapies.

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

21

Dr Ryan taft
Rare childhood
diseases
Our research seeks to answer pressing biological and medical
questions using our cutting-edge knowledge of the genome and
how it operates. For example, our work helps to directly identify and
diagnose patients with rare genetic diseases, which currently affect
more than 1.5 million Australians, with at least 400,000 of these
patients under the age of 15. This research is also assisting with the
development of tailored therapeutics and treatments for children
diagnosed with rare diseases, including leukodystrophies and PraderWilli syndrome.
During the past two years, we have dramatically expanded our work
in personalised medicine, and have now sequenced more than 100
families in the quest to discover the genetic causes behind rare
disease mutations. Our successes include the cases of a four-yearold boy with a central nervous system disease that we solved by
identifying a disease new to medicine; the discovery of the genetic
mutation responsible for a disease called H-ABC, which affects
brain development in childhood; and the resolution of more than 10
additional clinical cases that were thought to be unsolvable.
In parallel with this research, we are actively rethinking how the
genome operates by studying the long-ignored 98 per cent of our
DNA that isn’t genes, which has sometimes been referred to as
‘junk’ DNA. Using state-of-the-art bioinformatics and laboratory
approaches, we are able to study this biological dark matter and the
vast amounts of RNA it produces. Our work has resulted in a number
of important findings, including the fact that genes often code ‘secret’
layers of RNA information, which act to fine tune the human genetic
machine.

Dr Nick hamilton
Modelling,
visualisation and
classification of
bioimaging
Modern scientific methods that allow researchers to rapidly perform
millions of tests are leading to massive bioimage sets in need of
new methods of analysis. Scientists can now produce 3D timelapse footage of live cells and organs that show the interactions and
dynamics of the systems. For example, it is now possible to observe
live in 3D as individual Salmonella bacteria invade a cell. Our research
develops the methodologies, tools and mathematical models to help
scientists unlock valuable information from these rich and advanced
new data sources in areas such as drug and genomic discovery.
Our laboratory has two key streams of research in the analysis of
multi-dimensional bioimaging. The first is in developing methods
to automatically extract key information that describes biological
systems. The second is in building predictive mathematical models
at both cellular and organ levels. We hope to use these models to
predict the behaviour of organs and cells under a range of conditions,
including in health, disease and under drug action.
In 2013, in collaboration with other research teams, we developed
new combined methods in imaging, quantification and mathematical
modelling, which for the first time allowed the most comprehensive,
multi-scaled analyses of a developing kidney. Moreover, using
advanced 3D imaging technologies together with new mathematical
algorithms, we proved for the first time that the cellular branching
structure of the kidney follows a strict pattern of development over
time.
We are also applying these methods to answer some of the most
pressing questions in modern biology, such as ‘What are the
factors affecting the growth of nephrons, the fundamental filtering
unit in the human kidney?’ and ‘What are the critical stages in
kidney development, and can they be altered to treat disease?’

22

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

Other subjects that we are now applying our research to with
interdisciplinary collaborators include: ‘How does the lymphatic
system develop?’; ‘How do macrophages, the front line of the human
immune system, fight bacteria and infection?’; and ‘How do cancer
cells escape and spread from epithelial tissues?’

Associate
professor
Tim bailey
Pattern
recognition and modelling
in computational biology
Modern biological experiments produce massive amounts of data
and require sophisticated computer software to extract knowledge
from this endless information. Our laboratory develops specialised
web-based software for analysing the results of experiments that
sequence DNA and RNA, the information storage workhorses of
the cell. We also develop software tools to help biologists design
experiments for modifying DNA (genetic surgery) or for modifying the
regulation of genes in predictable ways. Our most notable software
is MEME Suite, which is used by nearly 18,000 biologists each year
to analyse DNA, RNA and protein sequences. It is impossible for
biologists to make sense of this type of experiment without the aid of
computers, and we have been developing the software to help them
do this for more than 20 years.
Our research provides scientists with a detailed look at how the
information stored in the chromosomes is converted to action by the
cell in health and disease. The first step in this process (transcription)
is itself controlled by earlier events, all driven by DNA, RNA and
proteins. By surveying these three types of molecules, mapping
where they go in the cell and how they interact with each other, our
research will allow us to understand how a single cell develops into a
complex organism—growing, dividing and changing into other kinds
of cells.
Our research focuses on three main areas of cell biology. Firstly,
we study the regulation of transcription, by which the information in
genes is transcribed into a format that can be transported around
the cell. This is the initial process through which the information
in genes influences physical changes in the body. Secondly, we
study the organisation and stability of proteins in the cell nucleus,
the control centre of the cell. Thirdly, we study the formation of
triple-stranded DNA. By studying transcription, subcellular protein
organisation and protein stability, we focus on three key steps in gene
expression. Our work on triple-stranded DNA is partly motivated by
recent evidence that suggests that these too may play a role in gene
expression. Knowing how gene expression is regulated is essential
to understanding cellular processes such as reproduction and
metabolism.
During 2013, our bioinformatics tools were cited more than 1000
times, and we developed and published two new tools for designing
genome and regulatory surgery experiments that will help biologists
pinpoint the key genes in disease and normal cellular growth. We
explored the regulation of transcription in cortical, forebrain and
lung development, and we also developed a bioinformatics tool for
studying the 3D structures of human chromosomes, which will help
us understand the role of chromatin architecture in the regulation of
gene expression.
Our work also contributed to developing a method for studying
the formation of spider toxins, which may have applications in
pain research. We also contributed to a review of the RGG motif,
a common feature of proteins that interact with RNA and DNA
molecules, which is implicated in neurological and neuromuscular
diseases and in cancer. Finally, we are currently analysing the
regulation of genes by the KLF1 protein to understand its role in a
form of hereditary anemia.

RESEARCH
PROGRAMS
MOLECULAR
CELL
BIOLOGY
Professor Alpha Yap (second from left) chats with his lab members

IMBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Molecular Cell Biology Division
seeks to understand the molecular
workings of the cell, the building
blocks of our bodies. This is vital for a
full understanding of how our bodies
function, and serves as a foundation
to investigate the cellular basis of
disease.
IMB scientists are tackling key issues in cell biology, investigating
the mechanisms responsible for how cells develop, function,
move and interact with one another. Laboratories within the
division regularly work alongside collaborators from other research
disciplines, where a multidisciplinary approach is necessary to
solve fundamental problems or build new technologies.
During 2013, the division supported research in the
following areas:
ff cadherin cell-cell adhesion and tissue organisation in health and
disease
ff molecular engineering: better tools, better science, better life
ff membrane trafficking at atomic resolution
ff role of the cell surface in health and disease
ff protein trafficking and inflammation
ff role of growth hormone in human development
ff endosomal dynamics and pathogen invasion
ff infection and innate immunity
ff inflammation and innate immunity.

24

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

Many leading technologies are used to help the division advance
discoveries in these areas, with state-of-the-art, on-site facilities for
quantitative optical microscopy, live cell imaging, single-molecule
protein interaction analysis, and protein structure determination.
Notably, the division is closely allied with the Australian Microscopy
and Microanalysis Research Facility, which allows for the
application of cryo-electronic microscopy, cellular tomography,
advanced visualisation and high-performance computing.
Members of the division also oversee the Australian Cancer
Research Foundationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cancer Biology Imaging Facility.
Major funders of the division include the National Health and
Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council,
Queensland Government, National Breast Cancer Foundation, and
industry partners.

Professor
Alpha Yap
Cadherin cellcell adhesion and
tissue organisation
in health and disease
Cells are the building blocks of our bodies. Interactions between
different cells are important to shape our developing bodies and
maintain the healthy organisation of our tissues. Importantly, those
interactions are disturbed in many diseases, including cancer and
inflammation.
My laboratory studies one set of cell-cell interactions, those that
occur when cells attach to one another. We focus on the cadherin
family of cell-cell adhesion receptors. These critically determine the
ability of cells to recognise one another and organise into coherent
tissues. The importance of these receptors is emphasised by the
fact that loss of cadherin function promotes cancer progression in
epithelial tissues such as the breast and colon, which are common
forms of human cancers.
Cadherin dysfunction also contributes to the breakdown of
epithelial barriers during inflammation, notably in chronic disease of
the intestine. By understanding the basic biological mechanisms of
cadherin-mediated cell recognition, we aim to provide vital insights
into the basis of development and common human diseases.
We focus on how cadherins regulate the cell cytoskeleton to
control the mechanical forces they exert on one another. Our most
recent work revealed that cells control the patterns of tension
with which they pull on their neighbours. By maintaining these
patterns, cells are able to form epithelial tissues, the layers of cells
that cover and protect organs, including skin. However, these
patterns are altered when potentially cancerous cells are pushed
out from epithelial tissues by surrounding cells, which can lead
to cancer metastasis. This process of cellular extrusion involves
many elements, including cell signals and components of the
cytoskeleton, which are regulated by cadherins to control cellular
forces. All of these elements present multiple opportunities for cellcell interactions to be disturbed and promote disease.

PROFESSOR
Kirill
Alexandrov
Molecular
engineering:
better tools, better
science, better life
Human civilisation is built on exploiting and manipulating biological
systems, from the most simple to the most complex. While
domestication, cultivation and the breeding of living systems laid
the foundations for contemporary industries, the introduction
of molecular biology has, as we know it, transformed medicine,
agriculture and industry.
Animal cloning, sequencing and synthesis of complete genomes
demonstrated the technical capacity of modern biotechnology
to modify and replicate living organisms. The next step in this
development is the knowledge-based design of biological systems.
While the classical engineering-driven designs of devices is based
on the first principles of physics and mathematics, the lack of
quantitative descriptions of living systems makes their redesign an
empirical and unpredictable process.
Our research is focused on filling this technological gap by
developing new methods for rapid in vitro synthesis and

engineering of proteins and protein-based machines. These
methods are vital in biotechnology, as the ability to produce and
analyse proteins determines the cost and speed of discovering
and creating new vaccines, drugs and diagnostic methods.
We combine this technology with molecule spectroscopy to
quantitatively analyse protein dynamics and protein-protein
interactions. We then use this technological platform to create
novel diagnostics and treatments for cancer, thrombosis and
excessive bleeding.
During the past 12 months, we have developed synthetic protein
signal transduction and amplification cascades based on proteases
for use in organism engineering and in vitro diagnostics. We have
also developed a novel approach for synthesis of polypeptides with
non-native and improved properties for use in human health and
industrial applications.
Notably, we partnered with two Australian biotechnology
companies to ensure the practical application and relevance of
our research. Together with Phylogica, we are identifying unique
peptide drug candidates with therapeutic potential, and with
Bioproton—which recently expanded its Brisbane manufacturing
facility—we are developing new technologies to help reduce the
environmental impact and costs of creating high-quality animal
feed enzyme supplements.
In 2013, we also established a collaborative relationship with UQ’s
Sustainable Minerals Institute, and launched an initiative aimed
at developing next-generation mining technologies that enable
bioextraction of minerals without the need for excavation. We are
currently exploring and developing a number of concepts, and we
are particularly interested in finding new methods for mining gold
and copper from low-grade or otherwise uneconomic deposits.

Dr Brett
collins
Membrane
trafficking at
atomic resolution
The body has tens of trillions of cells, and each of these cells
contains tens of thousands of different tiny machines called
proteins. When these proteins are not working as they should, the
result is often a disease such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s,
or inflammation. We are investigating how these proteins work
together so we can understand how they allow our cells to function
correctly, and what we might do to fix them when things go wrong.
Our research investigates several related families of proteins with
important roles in controlling cellular membrane trafficking—the
process of how material moves into and out of the cell, or is
shared between different membrane-bound organelles. We have
a particular emphasis on a key sub-cellular structure called the
endosome and combine different approaches to understand the
function of endosome-associated proteins and to determine how
their dysfunction contributes to disease, right down to the atomic
level.
Many endosomal proteins control the formation of cellular
membrane structures, which are selective regions of the endosome
that package and transport ‘cargo’ for trafficking, which is essential
for normal cellular function. Of particular interest to our laboratory
is the amyloid precursor protein (APP), which when broken down,
forms amyloid peptides that are believed to be a major cause of
Alzheimer’s disease, and cell adhesion receptors which are targets
for anti-inflammatory therapies.
During the past 12 months we have discovered how a protein
family called SNX-FERM molecules interact with a host of different
receptors, including the APP receptor central to Alzheimer’s, and
the P-selectin receptor required for inflammatory cell adhesion
to the blood vessel wall. We have also investigated the function
of proteins that are mutated in Parkinson’s disease, and we are
working with other IMB researchers to explore the structures of
protein molecules involved in cancer, lipodystrophy and muscular
dystrophy.

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

25

professor
rob parton
Role of the cell
surface in health
and disease
Each of the cells that make up our organs is enclosed in a plasma
membrane, a complex sheet made up of fats and proteins that
plays a crucial role in detecting growth signals or taking nutrients
up into the cell. At the same time, the plasma membrane protects
the cell against unwanted invaders. Our work aims to understand
the plasma membrane and what goes wrong in disease.
The properties of the plasma membrane rely on its specialisation
into regions of specific function. Our research particularly focuses
on caveolae, small ‘pockets’ on the plasma membrane that form a
specialised domain of the cell surface with a distinct structure and
function. Caveolae have been implicated in regulation of cell growth
and in maintaining the balance of fats in the cell. Defective caveolae
in human patients are associated with cancer, lipodystrophies (lack
of fat tissue), muscular dystrophy, and cardiovascular disease.
To study caveola function, we are studying cells and animal
models, namely mice and zebrafish, which lack caveolae or have
defective caveolae. We know loss of caveola proteins prevents
efficient liver regeneration after liver damage and we have now
shown that the major pathways involved in this process are those
that handle fats (lipids) in the liver.
Moreover, we discovered new scaffolding proteins called cavins
that are responsible for caveola formation, and we explored
their function. Our investigations revealed how caveolae can
respond to forces on the plasma membrane in a process called
mechanotransduction. During this process, caveolae are stretched,
causing cavins to be released into the cell and allowing them
to interact with cellular components. We showed that this also
alters the organisation of lipids, crucial for signalling. We further
demonstrated that the formation of caveolae by cavins plays an
important role in cancer, as an imbalance in caveola proteins can
lead to prostate cancer.
In addition to providing molecular insights into diseases such as
prostate cancer and muscular dystrophy, we have continued work
to optimise a unique novel drug delivery system that builds upon
our fundamental research, which we hope will have therapeutic
benefits in the future.

Professor
jennifer stow
Protein
trafficking and
inflammation
Proteins are ‘trafficked’ or moved around within our cells and
then released as a means of communication between cells. This
process is fundamental to many diseases ranging from infection to
cancer.
Our laboratory aims to piece together the trafficking highways
and regulators in cells of our immune system and major organs.
Understanding this trafficking network will allow us to manipulate
cells in disease, improving our use of existing drugs and identifying
targets for developing new drugs.
A major focus of our research is investigating how white blood
cells make and release chemical messengers called cytokines,
which mount an immune response by recruit other cells to sites

26

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

of infection. These cytokines are critical for fighting off infectious
bacteria and other microbes. But when it comes to cytokines, too
much is not a good thing. Excessive release of cytokines causes
inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel
disease and diabetes. Our laboratory is identifying the genes and
proteins that can be targeted to enhance cytokines in infection and
reduce them in inflammatory disease.
We also study how immune cells ‘phagocytose’, or eat bacteria,
a process that normally results in these microbes being digested
and killed. However, some bacteria can avoid dying after being
phagocytosed and instead they grow inside our cells, causing
diseases ranging from food poisoning and typhoid fever to
respiratory infections.
As part of a national research program, we are working to
investigate and document the many bacterial and host cell genes
that allow some bacteria to escape our immune systems. We
are learning from the bacteria about how to manipulate our own
cells. This research aims to develop new vaccines, antibiotics and
other treatments to increase our ability to avoid or fight infectious
diseases.
Our recent discoveries include identifying new genes that control
cell signaling and cytokine secretion in macrophages. We are
also testing some existing drugs for new applications in treating
inflammation and infection, and we have developed new methods
for analysing immune responses and protein interactions.

professor
mike waters
Role of growth
hormone in
human development
Growth hormone affects all of us throughout our lives. In childhood
and adolescence, it causes us to grow and determines our final
height. In adulthood, it regulates body composition—increasing
muscle, strengthening bone and decreasing fat. Both in childhood
and adolescence, it is increased during exercise, improving our
cognitive ability. In old age, at least in rodents, it regulates our
lifespan. Our research uses a variety of approaches to study
the molecular means used by growth hormone to achieve these
changes.
The growth hormone receptor determines the degree of cellular
response to growth hormone. Through sophisticated techniques,
we have developed a detailed molecular understanding of how
the growth hormone receptor is activated by the cell, the first such
model for the 30 receptors in this cytokine receptor class. As the
first fruit from this landmark discovery, we have created growth
hormone receptors that are permanently activated. These are
being used to promote hormone-free growth of fish in Chinese
aquaculture, with the potential to be applied to other aquaculture
species such as lobster.
We also recently described a growth hormone receptor-initiated
signalling pathway that is essential for expression of a powerful
immune tolerance molecule that we predict will improve the
success of human liver and kidney transplants. We are currently
trialling this molecule in animal models of liver regeneration. We
have also demonstrated the use of growth hormone therapy as a
treatment for hepatic steatosis (fatty liver) in animal models, and
determined how this works.
We have found that growth hormone acts in normally fed mice
to burn fat, so as to maintain a normal amount of fat. We find it
does this by inducing a special type of fat-burning cell known as
the beige cell. This changes the view of fat as a simple storage
organ that supplies lipid for muscle to burn, to a view where the fat
regulates its own level both by controlling appetite and by burning
itself.

Finally, the striking resistance of growth hormone-deficient and
growth hormone-receptor mutant mice, and humans with defective
growth hormone receptors to cancer has led us to elucidate
the pathways involved, and to seek to develop small molecule
(drug) growth hormone antagonists of therapeutic value in cancer
treatment. We have evidence that the erroneous synthesis of
growth hormone within cells can promote cancers, and have
identified a variant growth hormone receptor that promotes lung
cancer by inhibiting receptor degradation. However, growth
hormone acting externally is prevented from doing this by a set of
opposing factors, which means it is a safe therapeutic.

associate professor
rohan teasdale
Endosomal
dynamics
and pathogen
invasion
The movement of the thousands of
distinct membrane proteins between
the cell surface and intracellular
compartments represents a critical cellular process as it controls
the organisation of cells in tissues and the communication between
cells and their environment. The success of this process depends
on the regulated sorting and trafficking of proteins within the highly
dynamic intracellular endosomal compartments of the cell.

and also trigger inflammation to prevent infections spreading.
However, many important human pathogens, such as HIV and
tuberculosis, actually live within macrophages to avoid the immune
response. Our lab studies the interactions between macrophages
and specific human pathogens, with the goal of understanding
how pathogens overcome macrophage functions. Such an
understanding will help us to develop new approaches to combat
infectious diseases.
Two bacterial pathogens that we are currently studying
are Salmonella, which is a bacterium that causes severe
gastrointestinal disease leading to high mortality rates around the
world; and uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), which is the major cause
of urinary tract infections and is one of the most common infectious
diseases.
In 2012 we found that macrophages use zinc to kill bacteria.
During the past 12 months, we have built on our understanding
of this molecular process, discovering multiple mechanisms that
Salmonella uses to evade this particular macrophage response.
Since zinc supplementation is used to treat severe diarrheal
diseases, but it is not always effective, our findings may help
identify new anti-infective approaches. We also identified a specific
molecular recognition system that macrophages use to detect and
respond to UPEC. This finding may help lead to the development of
new ways of combating urinary tract infections.
In addition to providing protection against infectious diseases,
the innate immune system can trigger inappropriate inflammation,
which contributes to many serious acute and chronic inflammatory
diseases such as septic shock, atherosclerosis and rheumatoid
arthritis. Our laboratory also studies the genes and pathways
leading to inappropriate inflammatory responses in macrophages.

Defects in endosomal trafficking are linked to many human
diseases including various neurodegenerative diseases, cancers
and metabolic diseases. Our long-term research program is
focused on the discovery and characterisation of novel endosome
associated proteins and defining their molecular function in
endosomal trafficking pathways.

In 2013, we have continued to discover specific molecular
mechanisms that result in excessive macrophage inflammatory
responses. We are now working on approaches to block the
activity of these pathways, as this may provide new avenues for the
development of anti-inflammatory drugs.

For example, our prior basic research into the characterisation
of retromer, which is a central regulator of early endosome
protein trafficking, recently enabled us to provide the first
molecular insights into how its function is modified in disease.
Genetic mutations in retromer have recently been associated
with progressive neurological diseases including Parkinsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
disease. We have determined the molecular changes that occur in
endosomal trafficking to cause these disease states.

Dr kate
schroder
Inflammation
and innate
immunity

Numerous infectious pathogens depend on their ability to
manipulate endosome trafficking, specifically through hostpathogen interactions, to successfully invade the host. We are
currently investigating the molecular details of these pathways and
how they are modulated in response to infection with a number
of pathogens including Salmonella, a leading cause of human
gastroenteritis; chlamydia, a major sexually transmitted disease;
and Group A Streptococcus, a common bacterial cause of human
mortality through a range of conditions.

associate
professor
matt sweet
Infection and
innate immunity
Our bodies have an innate immune system that acts as an alarm
system. This system senses danger in the form of infection and/or
cell damage, and helps to initiate recovery and repair processes.
Macrophages are remarkably dynamic white blood cells that
are particularly important cellular components of the innate
immune system. These cells are able to directly destroy microbes

The innate immune system is the bodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first line of defence
against microbial attack. The innate immune system recognises
situations of cellular danger through receptors such as NOD-like
receptors (NLRs), which sense microbial structures and activate
inflammatory responses that underpin our ability to fight infectious
disease. Many NLRs do so by forming molecular complexes called
inflammasomes upon cellular infection with pathogenic bacteria,
viruses and fungi. However, these innate immune responses can
also be triggered in uninfected people by cell damage or metabolic
stress, leading to diseases such cancer, gout and diabetes.
Our research focuses on understanding how immune cells launch
healthy inflammation to fight infection and unhealthy inflammation
to promote disease. By understanding exactly how the body
fights infection, we can help identify new drug targets or vaccines
to combat infectious disease, which causes 13 million deaths
globally each year. By understanding how unhealthy inflammation
is initiated, we may also be able to design new strategies for the
treatment of common diseases such as cancer, gout and diabetes.
During the past 12 months, we have made significant progress
toward understanding the molecular mechanisms regulating
inflammasome activation, and the cell types critical for
inflammasome-mediated host defence and disease.

Some of the most serious diseases
facing society today are known to
have a genetic component, and for
many of these, disease susceptibility
is determined during fetal life.
Research conducted in IMBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Molecular Genetics and
Development Division generates important insights into gene
structure, function and interaction; clues to the causes of genetic
diseases, including cancer; and new molecular approaches for the
diagnosis and treatment of these diseases.
IMB scientists within the division focus on how proper gene
function contributes to adulthood wellbeing, how genes regulate
the optimal development of the embryo, and how errors in these
genetic processes can cause disease. They examine gene function
at the molecular level, but also in the living cells of entire organisms.
Researchers within the division collaborate closely with other
research groups internally and around the world, drawing on
expertise in bioinformatics, cell biology and chemistry to apply
common skillsets and approaches to a broad range of biological
problems.
During 2013, the division supported research in the
following areas:
ff disorders of sex development, infertility and testicular cancer
ff kidney development, damage, repair and regeneration
ff development of blood and lymphatic vessels
ff genetics and cell biology of cardiac development
ff nuclear hormone receptors and metabolic disease
ff melanocytes and skin cancer
ff primary cilia development and human ciliopathies
ff cancer and cell signalling.

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Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

Advanced technologies are applied to these research programs,
with world-class, on-site facilities for high-throughput genome
and exome sequencing; protein visualisation, including
immunofluorescence and confocal imaging methods; and gainand loss-of-function gene analyses in mice and zebrafish.
Major funding sources include the National Health and Medical
Research Council, Australian Research Council, Cancer Council
Queensland, Australian Cancer Research Foundation, Queensland
Government, the US National Institutes of Health, Human Frontiers
Science Program, Cariplo Foundation Italy, John Trivett Foundation,
and industry partners.

Professor
peter
koopman
Disorders
of sex
development,
infertility and
testicular cancer
Our research focuses on genes that regulate sex development—
the molecular process that determines whether an embryo
develops as a male or a female—and finding how problems with
these genes can cause intersex, infertility and testicular cancer.
We are studying SRY, the Y-chromosome maleness gene, and
how it controls the genetic and cellular events leading to testis
development and male sex determination. We also use molecular
genetics tools to identify other sex development genes and to
study how these affect sex development, using transgenic and
gene-knockout mice to answer questions about gene function.
Ultimately, we hope this research will help us to better understand
the causes of human disorders of sex development, which
affect up to 1 in every 250 children born each year, so that these
disorders can be diagnosed more accurately and managed more
effectively.
We are also interested in how germ cells—the embryonic precursor
cells that become sperm in males or eggs in females—receive
molecular signals from the testis or ovary in order to choose
the corresponding path of sperm or egg development. We have
discovered several signalling proteins that direct this decision
and current research is focused on understanding how these
signals act. This work is helping us find the causes of infertility and
testicular cancer, two of the most common reproductive disorders
whose incidence continues to rise.
More broadly, the study of embryo development provides insight
into mechanisms of disease, including cancer, and provides a
molecular and cellular basis for new molecular diagnostics and
targeted therapies.

PROFESSOR
Melissa little
Kidney
development,
damage, repair and
regeneration
Chronic kidney disease is a growing health problem, with one in
three Australians now at risk of developing the disease. In 2010,
2257 new patients began treatment for end-stage kidney failure
in Australia, and treatment for chronic kidney disease accounted
for 15 per cent of all hospitalisations in the country. Currently, the
only treatments available for end-stage renal disease are dialysis
or organ transplantation, creating an urgent need for improved
treatments.
In 2013, our team identified the six key genes that can be used to
transform adult cells into kidney stem cells, a discovery that was
published in the world’s leading nephrology journal, the Journal of
the American Society of Nephrology. Building on this finding, our
team achieved another world first, growing a mini-kidney using
human stem cells. This breakthrough made headlines across
the world and was published in the prestigious scientific journal,
Nature Cell Biology.

human stem cells turn into the components of the kidney, and
that these key cell types would ‘talk’ to each other to self-organise
into a mini-kidney when grown together in a dish. Moreover, the
fact that stem cell populations can organise themselves into such
complex structures within the laboratory bodes well for the future
of tissue bioengineering. Here we hope to be able to make miniorgans to test new drugs for kidney disease, an advance that could
save considerable time and money when it comes to developing
better drugs.
In future, these findings could also help us bioengineer kidneys for
individual patients. Our next step is to make mini-kidneys in culture
from the cells of different patients with kidney disease so that we
can try to determine what has caused their particular disease, and
develop personalised treatments.
Going forward, we hope to determine if we can use the same
stem cell transformation process we used to grow kidneys to
make nephrons, which are the filtration units of the kidney and are
essential for kidney health. We will also continue to collaborate with
scientists and clinicians in the Netherlands, Italy and the UK on a
research project to prevent kidney transplant rejection and to treat
acute renal injury using mesenchymal stem cells.

dr ben hogan
Molecular
genetics of
vascular
development
Our vascular system is comprised of two vital and interconnected
networks: a network of blood vessels responsible for distributing
blood cells, oxygen, hormones and essentials nutrients around
our bodies; and a network of lymphatic vessels responsible for
carrying lymphatic fluid around the body and draining lymph waste
and excess fluid. However, when the function and development
of either of these two networks is affected, so too is our health,
with abnormal vascular performance associated with a range of
cardiovascular diseases, including vascular malformations, stroke,
macular degeneration, lymphoedema, inflammation, and cancer
metastasis.
Our research investigates how blood and lymphatic vessels form
from pre-existing vessels. We aim to discover new genes and
molecular pathways that regulate vascular growth during the
development of the embryo and in disease. To do this, we use the
zebrafish embryo as a model biological system as it is similar to
mammalian models and humans, and offers a unique combination
of direct imaging techniques, embryological tools and genetic tools
for the study of developmental processes.
In 2013, we discovered new molecular mechanisms that regulate
the formation of lymphatic vessels, identifying a crucial link
between the genes CCBE1, VEGFC and VEGFR3, all of which
are mutated in inherited lymphoedema syndromes. Together
with IMB’s Francois Lab, we discovered unexpected crossregulation between growth factor and transcription factor
pathways controlling the formation of arteries and veins. We also
identified several new genes controlling lymphatic vessel growth
in the embryo. This work has significant implications for how we
view pathological processes in disease, specifically in inherited
disorders and metastasis.
Finally, we have completed a large, integrated, next-generation
genetic screen to identify unique zebrafish mutants that fail to form
lymphatic vessels. This will lead to a vastly deeper understanding
of the molecules needed for lymphatic development and function in
health and disease.

Through this research, we discovered it was possible to make
Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

29

Dr mat
francois
Transcriptional
regulation
of blood and
lymphatic vessels in
health and disease
Lymphatic vessels are a vital component of the vascular system
and are essential for immune surveillance and maintaining fluid
balance. In the adult, aberrant formation of lymphatic vessels is
associated with a wide range of diseases that include chronic
inflammatory disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis, cancer
metastasis and lymphoedema.
Under these pathological conditions, the developmental programs
that drive lymphangiogenesis become dysregulated. Therefore,
understanding the molecular basis that governs normal lymphatic
vessel development in the embryo is a prerequisite to further
identify novel target genes and develop potential new therapeutic
avenues to prevent aberrant development in adults.
Our research identifies and characterises key genetic pathways
influencing lymphatic vascular development in the mouse
embryo. We are using pre-clinical mouse models of cancer
or lymphoedema to validate the central role of developmental
programs that are reactivated in these diseases. This work will
help us to develop a new class of compounds that will enable the
pharmacological management of the lymphatic network, with the
view to explore vascular development and establish the basis for
drug development.
The experimental strategies we have pioneered to perform this
translational research program rely on a range of tests and involve
close collaborations with other IMB scientists and international
research groups with expertise in zebrafish biology, medicinal
chemistry and live imaging.
During the past 12 months, we uncovered the embryonic function
of vascular endothelial growth factor D (VEGF-D), which controls
how blood vessels develop and spread by modulating the activity
of the transcription factor Sox18 in both mouse and fish model
systems. By understanding the cellular and molecular modes of
action of VEGF-D, we can develop targeted therapeutics to control
vascular expansion during cancer to block tumour growth and
metastasis.

Dr kelly smith
genetics and
cell biology
of cardiac
development
The heart is essential for life support and any defects that alter
its structure or function can be fatal. Our laboratory, which was
established in April 2013, investigates how the heart forms by using
forward genetics to identify new, previously unidentified genes that
regulate cardiac development.
In the embryo, the heart begins as a simple straight tube.
During development, it undergoes a series of complex folding
events, growth and tissue specialisations to give rise to a multichambered, beating organ made up of many tissue types. Any
defects that occur during this process result in structural anomalies
known as congenital heart defects, which are the most common
form of birth defects.

30

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

Expanding our fundamental knowledge of heart development
provides a framework for understanding cardiac disease, both
inherited structural malformations and acquired heart disease.
Understanding what cellular changes take place during heart
development and defining the genetic regulators orchestrating this
process are essential for devising strategies for cardiac repair.
To study heart development, our research primarily uses the
zebrafish model. Zebrafish develop external to the mother (from
the one-cell stage) and are optically transparent, permitting live
imaging of the heart as the organ forms. We use the zebrafish
model for this ease-of-use in functional gene identification, taking
advantage of its amenability for high-throughput genetic screening
as well as its tractability in live imaging. We are also translating our
research into mammalian systemsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;such as mouse models and
cell cultureâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;validating the relevance and application of findings
from the zebrafish model in mammals.
During 2013, we completed our first successful forward genetic
screen for heart development mutants. With these novel mutants,
we hope to identify new molecular and cellular regulators of cardiac
development, significantly improving our understanding of how the
heart forms. We also introduced a range of cutting-edge tools to
help us conduct more targeted and efficient research, the findings
from which will direct us in developing strategies for mending the
diseased heart.

Professor
george
muscat
Nuclear
hormone
receptors and
metabolic disease
Nuclear hormone receptors (NRs) are proteins that translate
endocrine, metabolic and pathophysiological signals into gene
regulation. Our research utilises transgenic mouse models and
focuses on understanding the molecular role of NRs (coregulators)
and how they control metabolism in muscle, fat and the liver in the
context of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Epidemiological evidence points to associations between
metabolic disease and cancer. Along these lines, we collaboratively
examine the molecular role of NRs in breast cancer. We also use
mouse models and human cohort studies to gain insights into
obesity, type 2 diabetes and cancer, which we can then use to
better understand human health and disease.
In our breast cancer studies, we examined normal human breast
tissue, estrogen receptor-positive and negative breast cancer
cohorts and tissue adjacent to breast tumors. From this work, we
identified NR targets for therapeutic exploitation, classification, and
prognosis, and discovered epigenetic markers that could lead to
metastasis-free survival for patients.
We also investigated the role of NRs in obesity and type 2 diabetes.
In these studies, we produced transgenic mouse lines with musclespecific expression of an activated form of the nuclear receptor
NOR1. We then demonstrated that NOR1 signalling controls
skeletal muscle reprogramming, metabolic capacity, glucose
tolerance, physical endurance, and resistance to diet-induced
obesity and hepatic triglyceride accumulation. These findings were
the first of their kind and were published as a cover article in the
leading international journal, Molecular Endocrinology. Our future
research will identify novel muscle-specific agonists targeting these
NRs for therapeutic uses in obesity, type 2 diabetes and improving
exercise capacity.
During the year, we demonstrated that modulators of histone
methylation and epigenomic regulation, which turn the genes

in DNA ‘on’ and ‘off’, in skeletal muscle cells are involved in the
regulation of glycogen metabolism. Specifically, we found the
modulator known as PRMT4 controls genes involved in human
glycogen storage diseases, which affect a person’s ability to
exercise, levels of fatigue, and sensitivity to insulin. We also
identified and characterised the regulatory role of the c-ski
oncogene in genetic programs that control susceptibility to dietinduced obesity, and insulin signalling in skeletal muscle.
In collaboration with IMB’s Parton Lab, we demonstrated that
caveolin-1 (CAV1)—the main structural protein of caveolae—
regulates liver lipid accumulation, and that this process involves
regulation of bile acids and signalling by the nuclear receptor
FXR. This provides new targets for the treatment of obesity and
hepatic steatosis, also known as fatty liver disease. Furthermore,
in collaboration with IMB’s Stow Lab, we demonstrated that
an NR called ROR-alpha controls the expression of cholesterol
25-hydroxylase in macrophages, an important gene that controls
responses to infection and immunity.
Finally, insights gained from studies in lean, obese and diabetic
murine models are helping our team to profile the expression
of NRs, NR-associated co-factors, and metabolic genes in
overweight and obese children before and after introducing a
nutrition and lifestyle program. This will enable the translation
of this basic research into outcomes to improve childhood and
human health.

associate
professor
rick sturm
Melanocytes
and skin cancer
The skin is the human body’s largest organ and is constantly
working to protect itself by adapting to a range of internal and
external factors, such as chemicals, temperature and ultraviolet
radiation (UVR).

skin type, hair colour and eye colour and how this affects their
sensitivity to sun exposure. We are studying how melanocytes
develop into specialised cells within the skin, and how the
interaction of melanocytes with keratinocytes after UVR exposure
modifies the tanning response, causing our skin to darken to
varying degrees.
Knowing the genetic basis of ultraviolet-sensitive skin types will
allow us to better understand the changes that occur in skin
pathology to improve public health and awareness campaigns
for the prevention and early detection of skin cancers, especially
within those Australians who are genetically most at risk of being
diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime.
Of major interest to our laboratory is the role of the protein
melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R), which is active on the surface of
melanocyte cells and plays a role in stimulating melanin production.
MC1R gene variants are common in the Australian population and
these determine a person’s skin phototype and response of the
skin to UV damage.
We are investigating genetic associations of known and previously
unknown candidate genes with skin and hair colour to develop a
full appreciation of how differences in these physical traits come
about. In collaborative efforts we are also studying genes involved
in freckling, mole shape, size and colour in the hope of discovering
new ways to genetically screen for, diagnose, and treat melanoma
in at-risk Australians.
A study of 600 volunteers from Queensland has documented
pigmentation and common mole phenotypes to combine with
genotypic information from this data set. Notably, we found
a significant association between the dominant dermoscopic
pattern and MC1R genotypes. We also reported on six patients
in our cohort who carry the SUMOylation-deficient MITF E318K
mutation that has recently been described as a mediumpenetrance melanoma gene. The phenotype of these individuals
showed a commonality of fair skin, high total nevi count, and
all were multiple primary melanoma patients. There was also a
high incidence of amelanotic melanomas found within the group,
suggesting a genetic interaction between the MITF E318K allele
and MC1R RHC homozygous genotype. These findings have direct
clinical relevance to medical practitioners and how they diagnose
melanoma in their patients.

Our research investigates variations in the genes and melanocyte
cell processes that produce pigment and determine an individual’s

Dr Alex Combes (Little lab)

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

31

Associate
professor
carol wicking
Developmental
genes and inherited
disease
Defects arising from abnormal embryonic development are a major
cause of infant mortality and childhood disability. Ciliopathies form
a class of genetic disease that arise in the developing embryo
as a result of dysfunction of the primary cilium, a hair-like cellular
projection with a pivotal role in developmental signalling. These
diseases are characterised by a variable set of features, including
extra fingers and toes (polydactyly); kidney disease; obesity; retinal
degeneration; and skeletal, craniofacial, heart and brain anomalies.
As part of a national and international network of clinicians and
researchers, my laboratory has been involved in the discovery and
characterisation of novel ciliopathy genes through high-throughput
sequencing of patient cohorts. Our role is primarily to validate and
extend the mutation discoveries through functional characterisation
in animal- and cell-based models. To date, we have described two
novel genes causing Jeune and short-rib polydactyly syndromes,
ciliopathies characterised by severe skeletal defects. This work
demonstrates the value in a multidisciplinary approach, allowing us
to cover the full gamut of ciliopathy research from gene discovery
to functional studies.
Our second approach to ciliopathy gene discovery involves
analysis of mice generated through random forward genetic
screening approaches. This has provided insight into the
function of the primary cilium and the underlying mechanism of
disease. In addition, we have used engineered mouse models
of the Hedgehog developmental signalling pathway to study the
craniofacial defects associated with ciliopathies, providing insight
into common defects such as cleft lip and cleft palate.

PROFESSOR
brandon
wainwright
Cancer and cell
signalling
Skin cancer is a major public health issue in Australia, with the
treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer costing our community
more than $264 million each year. Moreover, brain tumours remain
the most common cause of cancer-related death in children and of
these, medulloblastoma is the most commonly diagnosed.
Our laboratory has made great progress in understanding the
genetic pathways behind the most common form of skin cancer
in Australia, Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC), and medulloblastoma, a
type of brain tumour that occurs predominantly in children.
Having mapped and isolated the Naevoid Basel Cell Carcinoma
Syndrome (NBCCS) gene called Patched, which is the driver for a
medical condition where affected individuals have a predisposition
for developing BCC and medulloblastoma, we were able to identify
the Patched gene as a controller of a molecular signalling pathway
called the Hedgehog pathway.
The Hedgehog pathway is a set of genetic mutations that
contribute to the development of a wide range of tumour types,
including lung, pancreatic and ovarian cancer. By examining
this pathway and how it interacts with other genetic pathways,
our scientists have gained a better understanding of the normal
development of the skin and cerebellum, a part of the brain that
controls motor functions.
By manipulating the strength of the Hedgehog pathway we believe
stem cell populations can be expanded or can be induced to
become cancerous.
During the past 12 months we identified the core genetic
components that lead to the development of medulloblastoma.
This work will enable the therapeutic targeting of every
medulloblastoma, not just a subset, leading to more powerful
clinical trials and ultimately more effective treatment options.

Artworks by Joannah Underhill on display

32

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

JOINT
APPOINTMENTS
AND AFFILIATES
Joint appointments and affiliates foster research
collaborations between IMB and other institutes and
schools at The University of Queensland and around
the world. They are actively involved in sharing
resources and facilities, supervising students and
supporting IMB initiatives.
UQ joint appointment
Professor Philip Hugenholtz
School of Chemistry and Molecular
Biosciences

Associate Professor Peter Thorn
School of Biomedical Sciences
Professor Istvan Toth
School of Chemistry and Molecular
Biosciences
Associate Professor Christine Wells
Australian Institute for Bioengineering and
Nanotechnology
Professor Paul Young
School of Chemistry and Molecular
Biosciences

ACRF Cancer Biology
Imaging Facility
The Australian Cancer Research
Foundation’s (ACRF) Cancer Biology
Imaging Facility is one of the largest and
most comprehensively equipped facilities in
Australia for both the imaging and screening
of chemical and biological libraries. It is home
to 23 high-performance microscopes and
supporting image data analysis workstations,
with facility staff on-site to provide users with
expert technical support and training.
During the past 12 months, 206 unique users
across the university used the facility for a
total of 18,800 hours to conduct advanced
live imaging of cancer cells to help unravel
the molecular reasons why healthy cells
turn cancerous and spread through the
body. Capabilities of the facility include
laser scanning and spinning disc confocal
microscopy, deconvolution, high-throughput
multi-wall imaging, and 3D optical projection
tomography (OPT).
Data generated from facility equipment in
2013 featured in more than 20 publications,
and highlighted a range of discoveries,
including a protocol that prompts stem
cells to form all the required cell types to
‘self-organise’ into a mini-kidney in a dish,
and the discovery of a protein in cells that
could block the escape route of potentially
cancerous cells and stop them spreading to
other parts of the body.
The ACRF Cancer Biology Imaging
Facility was founded in 2010 with a $2.5
million ACRF grant and was designed to
complement and extend the work of the
existing ACRF Dynamic Imaging Facility,
which was established in 2005.

High-Throughput
Genomics Facility
IMB’s Queensland Centre for Medical
Genomics (QCMG) houses a high-throughput
DNA sequencing and microarray facility
that is capable of delivering genomic data
at unprecedented speeds and scales. With
30 scientists and bioinformaticians working

34

Mass Spectrometry Facility user,
Dr Jenny Zhang

within the QCMG, the facility is used on a
daily basis to conduct pioneering research
and meet the objectives and milestones for
the International Cancer Genome Consortium
(ICGC) project. During 2013, the facility
initiated a small number of cross-discipline
research collaborations when it commenced
its sequencing service for IMB scientists.
Some of the internal sample processing
capabilities of the facility include: robotic
sample preparation; an integrated
Laboratory Information Management System
(LIMS); Illumina HiSeq, MiSeq and iScan
instrumentation; dedicated high-performance
computing and data archiving; and extensive
automation of genome sequencing
informatics. Our scientists use the facility
to produce high-quality genomic data and
analyses to primarily investigate genome
variation, which is used to deliver novel
applications to improve human health and
patient outcomes.
The High-Throughput Genomics Facility
is funded by IMB and operates on a cost
recovery basis.

Mass Spectrometry
Facility
IMB’s Mass Spectrometry Facility is home to
a suite of state-of-the-art mass spectrometry,
high-performance liquid chromatography,
and robotic instrumentation that have been
refined and optimised to investigate biological
systems in a high-throughput qualitative and
quantitative manner.
The 11 available systems within the facility
provide researchers with the resources
to investigate a broad range of mass
spectrometric applications, including
molecular discovery, identification,
characterisation and quantification.
In 2013, the facility provided technical
advice, and research and training support
for 125 unique users from across SouthEast Queensland working on a diverse
range of projects. This support ranged from
concept through experimental approach,
design, methodology, data acquisition,
data processing, and project reporting and
publication.

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

Biomolecular NMR Facility Manager,
Dr Peta Harvey

Through the use of this facility, our scientists
hope to gain new insights into protein
interactions and structures; amino acid
sequence; post-translational modifications;
compound stability; and bioavailability of
potential therapeutics in a range of biological
systems.
Some of the discoveries made in 2013 using
the facility included the identification and
characterisation of potential therapeutic
molecules from natural product extracts
using de-novo peptide sequencing; and
revealing the quantitative bioavailability
characteristics of new molecules in the
discovery and development of potential
therapeutic molecules for a number of
targeted diseases, including chronic pain,
breast and ovarian cancer and chronic
kidney disease. The implementation of
new technology in the facility, such as the
nano-HPLC-AB SCIEX Triple TOF 5600, has
allowed users to study complex biological
systems—for example, those found in cone
snail venom—in greater depth and with
greater sensitivity.
The facility acknowledges funding from ARC
LIEF Project LE110100186.

Biomolecular
NMR Facility
IMB’s Biomolecular Nuclear Magnetic
Resonance (NMR) Facility makes the
powerful technique of NMR spectrometry
accessible to our research and industry
clients. The facility comprises a 600
MHz spectrometer with a cryoprobe and
autosampler, and a 500 MHz spectrometer,
equipped with a robotic sample changer.
In addition to the institute’s extensive
NMR infrastructure, IMB researchers also
have access to a 900 MHz spectrometer
equipped with a cryoprobe and sample
changer, making it the most powerful stateof-the-art NMR spectrometer in Australia.
This instrument is located at UQ and is an
instrument of the Queensland NMR Network.
The available instrumentation is particularly
useful for the determination of high-resolution
structures of biological macromolecules
such as proteins, as well as characterisation
of protein/ligand interactions; determination

Solar Biofuels Research Centre

of molecular size and oligomerisation state;
investigation of dynamic properties; and
metabonomic studies of various biofluids.
Key discoveries made in 2013 using the
facility include structural characterisation of
an oxytocic plant peptide that modulates the
human oxytocin/vasopressin receptor, and
of numerous venoms, including those from
cone snails, snakes and scorpions; and the
determination of self-association properties
of cyclic peptides.
The facility is available on a user-pays system
to researchers from a range of scientific
disciplines across UQ. The facility also holds
collaborations with researchers from other
Australian universities as well as several
international collaborations, most recently
with scientists from Austria, China, and the
US.

Solar Biofuels
Research Centre
The Solar Biofuels Research Centre
(SBRC) provides an advanced pilot-scale
test facility and ancillary laboratories for
the development of advanced microalgae
systems for the production of food, fuel,
biofuels, bioproducts and bioremediation.
It is designed to provide a research hub
to build synergy between industry and
university partners skilled in biology,
engineering and systems development.
The $3.48 million SBRC project has the
potential to benefit regional communities by
developing economically viable methods of
producing biofuels and other commodities
including animal feeds. Capabilities of
the SBRC include: strain purification;
cryopreservation; nutrient and light
optimisation; metabolic engineering; high
value product development and screening;
photobioreactor and raceway system design;
and technoeconomic analysis.
The SBRC, located at Pinjarra Hills
in Brisbane, was developed by IMB
in partnership with the Queensland
Government, KBR Inc., Neste Oil Corp.,
Cement Australia Pty Ltd, Siemens, and
Bielefeld University and the Karlsruhe
Institute of Technology in Germany.

QFAB Bioinformatics staff member, Anne Kunert

QFAB Bioinformatics
QFAB Bioinformatics (QFAB) provides
bioinformatics and biostatistics services
for life science researchers to integrate,
analyse and manage large-scale genomics,
proteomics, field and clinical datasets.
In 2013, QFAB undertook 58 projects for
clients from industry, universities, medical
research institutes, and government
departments.
Some of these projects included assisting
with a retrospective genomic analysis and
real-world evaluation of clinical features of
oral malignant disorders and oral epithelial
dysplasia; developing a cancer genomics
data linkage software application; and
creating a dynamic omics data visualisation
and interaction toolbox.
QFAB’s support services range from
experimental design, data capture and
mining, through to genomics, proteomics
and metabolomics analyses, and data
visualisation. They are also experts in crossdomain integration of multiple data types,
including linkage to clinical data.
QFAB provides a fast and flexible service
operating on a fee-for-service basis.
QFAB’s training division provides integrated
workshops through to customised
solutions in all areas of bioinformatics and
experimental design.
QFAB combines two critical infrastructure
platforms linking leading software packages
and data repositories with a web service
workflow engine and visualisation technology
deployed in a scalable, high-performance
computational environment. This enables
investigations across the biological
continuum from systems and chemi-biology
perspectives.
QFAB was established in 2007 and
is a collaboration between UQ, QUT,
Griffith University, and the Queensland
Government’s Department of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Forestry.

UQ ROCX Crystallisation and X-ray Diffraction Facility

UQ ROCX Crystallisation
& X-ray Diffraction Facility
The UQ Remote Operation Crystallisation
and X-ray Diffraction (UQ ROCX) Facility
provides research training and support for
protein structure determination.
This support includes protein crystallisation
condition screening, crystal diffraction
screening, data collection, data processing,
and structure determination. Nano-litre
liquid handlers and automated imaging
means that large numbers of crystallisation
conditions can be investigated with small
quantities of protein. The diffraction facility
has Queensland’s brightest research X-ray
source and the state’s only robotic sample
storage and retrieval system, which allows
for multiple data sets to be collected without
user intervention.
In 2013, 61 unique users accessed the facility
for its high-throughput applications, namely
crystallisation condition screening, especially
for membrane proteins; and screening
fragment libraries for drug leads.
Collectively, users performed 100,000
crystallisation experiments, collected 56
diffraction data sets and published 15
scientific papers supported by UQ ROCX
access in 2013.
Some of the discoveries reported in 2013
using the facility included identification
and characterisation of a protein essential
for pathogenicity in the infectious disease
melioidosis, and a potential bioweapon;
characterisation of the mechanism by which
cells use PX-FERM proteins to move diverse
transmembrane cargos around the body;
the discovery and characterisation of potent
enzyme inhibitors with antimalarial activity;
and the discovery of how bacteria find the
specific metals they need to function.
UQ ROCX is funded by the Australian
Research Council and UQ.

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

35

Grants,
FELLOWSHIPS
AND AWARDS
Grants

Fellowships

Competitive grant funding represented more
than 58 per cent ($36 million) of IMB’s total
income in 2013 ($62 million), reflecting the
high quality and scientific importance of our
research.

IMB Fellows are supported by a range of
competitive fellowship schemes awarded
by the ARC, NHMRC, UQ and Queensland
Government.

The institute performed well in the major
competitive grant rounds offered during the
year by the Australian Research Council
(ARC), National Health and Medical Research
Council (NHMRC), and the Queensland
Government. IMB achieved above national
average success rates, recording a 47.4
per cent success rate against a national
average success rate of 21.4 per cent for
ARC Discovery Project grants, and a 45 per
cent success rate against a national average
success rate of 20.5 per cent for NHMRC
Project grants.
During 2013, IMB received funding to lead
a number of international research projects
with some of the world’s top scientists in
their respective fields. Notably, work began
on the institute’s first NHMRC-European
Union Collaborative Research Grant. Led
by Professor Melissa Little, the collaborative
project involves a multinational research
team investigating cellular therapies for
kidney disease. Professor Matt Cooper also
received funding to lead an Australia-India
Strategic Research Fund project to identify
cellular immunotherapy targets and develop
acid-stable analogues suitable for future
development as new treatments for type 2
diabetes and other inflammatory disorders.
In 2013, funding commenced for the
following grants:
ff 1 Australia-India Strategic Research Fund
project grant totalling $282,365
ff 1 NHMRC Development grant totalling
$513,630

Thanks to the support of these organisations,
IMB Fellows have the opportunity to conduct
valuable research with the potential to
advance global scientific progress and
improve the health and wellbeing of people
around the world.
Total competitive fellowships held in
2013:

Awards
Our researchers do great science every day.
Awards play an important role in publicly
recognising the significant contributions our
people make to our global research efforts.
2013 IMB award highlights included:
ff Professor David Craik was elected as
a Fellow of the Australian Academy of
Science, in recognition of his pioneering
research into a new type of molecule that
may lead to improved treatments for pain
and other diseases.
ff Professor Glenn King received the
Beckman Coulter Discovery Science
Award from the Australian Society of
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
(ASBMB) for his leadership in the field of
venoms-based drug discovery. He was
also awarded the Sir Bob Robertson
Award from the Australian Society for
Biophysics.

ff Dr Kate Schroder and Dr Irina Vetter were
named among Queensland’s best and
brightest young scientists, receiving Tall
Poppy awards from the Australian Institute
of Policy and Science. The awards
recognise their outstanding research into
infection and immunity (Schroder), and
chronic pain (Vetter), and their efforts to
inspire young Australians about science.

ff Dr Ryan Taft was named in QWeekend’s
Queensland’s 50 Best and Brightest 2013
list for his discovery of a new disease,
HBSL.

Professor Alpha Yap

ff Professor Alpha Yap was named the
Australia and New Zealand Society for
Cell and Developmental Biology 2013
President’s Medal winner in recognition of
his seminal contributions to cell biology.
ff Professor Matt Cooper won an NHMRC
Achievement Award for having the topranked development grant out of the 102
applications nationwide in 2012. This
funding will allow his laboratory to develop
improved treatments for tuberculosis,
including drug-resistant strains.
ff Professor Rob Parton won an NHMRC
Achievement Award for having the equal
top-ranked project grant out of nearly
3000 applications nationwide in 2012.
This funding will allow his laboratory to
study a cellular pathway that appears to
play a crucial role in cell migration around
the body, including the spread of cancer
cells.

Professors Rob Parton (L) and Matt Cooper (R)

Drs Lachlan Coin (L) and Kate Schroder (R)

ff Dr Lachlan Coin received a $90,000
UQ Foundation Research Excellence
Award to better understand the genetic
architecture of autoimmune disorders so
improved therapeutics can be developed.
ff Dr Kate Schroder received an $80,000
UQ Foundation Research Excellence
Award for research to pinpoint the
pathways that allow our bodies to fight
infectious diseases and develop drugs to
boost our natural defences.
Dr Ryan Taft

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

37

LEARNING

PhD student Masuda Nabi (Alexandrov Lab)

38

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

RESEARCH
TRAINING
IMB’s postgraduate
program gives students a
strong start to their careers
by surrounding them with
world-class researchers,
facilities, and support
services.
As active members of our laboratory teams,
IMB students are encouraged to expand their
skill sets, seek answers to the big questions,
and make the most of student life at IMB and
UQ. Students are given the freedom they need
to explore their scientific potential in a culture
of research excellence. IMB’s Postgraduate
Office also provides students with a range of
extra curricular activities and opportunities to
accelerate career and personal development.
Some of these opportunities—facilitated
through the UQ Career Advantage PhD
program—include training courses in bioethics,
scientific writing, media and communications,
and research support facilities. Students also
participate in events organised by IMB’s student
association, SIMBA, which brings students
together for social and professional networking
and peer support.
In 2013, IMB supported 121 active research
higher degree students (RHD)—including 26
new students—and continued to support an
additional 22 students who had submitted their
theses and were awaiting conferral. A record 34
PhD students graduated during 2013, and went
on to secure positions at leading organisations
around the world, including the Universities of
Oxford and Cambridge in the UK, Lonza and
the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in the US,
and CSIRO and the Garvan Institute in Australia.
During the year, 73 per cent (89 students) of
IMB students were international students hailing
from more than 35 countries, and 49 per cent
(60 students) of students were female. We also
supported all commencing PhD and MPhil
students to secure full scholarships for their
studies prior to commencing at IMB.
In February, we welcomed 11 new honours
students, and saw our 6 continuing honours
students graduate mid-year. Notably, 3 of our
new honours students were awarded IMB
Honours Scholarships valued at $2500. Our
honours students excelled in their studies, with
more than 75 per cent achieving first class
honours, which requires students to achieve a
weighted average of 80 per cent or above for the
duration of their degree.
During the year, we welcomed 13 undergraduate
students, 9 coursework MPhil students, 13
summer students and 27 occupational trainees
to complete research modules at IMB as part
of their degree, with some of these students
choosing to return to IMB to continue their
studies in 2014. We also welcomed 7 students
from Fudan University in China for a 6-week
research experience at IMB, and hosted a

US biology graduate who joined IMB on a
prestigious Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship,
which supports American students to conduct
research within an Australian postgraduate
program for approximately 12 months.
Attracting talented and motivated students
remained a priority for the institute in 2013.
During the year, IMB’s postgraduate team
attended a number of local and international
student recruitment events, including attending
the China Scholarships Council Exhibition in
Beijing and Shanghai; hosting prospective
students at IMB’s honours information session
in April; joining in UQ’s Faculty of Science’s
speed-dating event for high school students;
and participating in a range of UQ engagement
programs, including Careers that Shape the
World, Experience Science, Young Scholars
Program, Postgraduate Advice Night, Future
Researchers Showcase, Market Day and Open
Day.
Our students gave us many reasons to celebrate
during the year. Third-year developmental
biology PhD students Kathryn McClelland
and Elanor Wainwright were selected from
thousands of student and postdoctoral
applicants to secure places in two of the most
prestigious training courses in the world.
Kathryn was 1 of only 23 participants chosen
to attend the Woods Hole summer course in
embryology in Massachusetts, and Elanor
was 1 of only 14 participants chosen to attend
the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s mouse
development, stem cells and cancer course
in New York. Moreover, Marga Gual Soler was
selected from more than 10,000 applicants to
undertake a 3-month traineeship with the United
Nations in New York, and Selwin Wu was invited
to give a talk at the Gordon Research Seminar
on Cell Contact and Adhesion in Italy.
The high calibre of our students and their
innovative research was further recognised
during the year through their success in
a number of competitive grant and award
programs. IMB students Uru Malik, Bodil
Carstens and Wilko Duprez were awarded
travel grants to attend the American Peptide
Symposium in Hawaii; Juliane Wolf was
awarded a grant to attend the Universitas
21 Research Conference in Dublin; Atefeh
Taherian and Jasmin Straube were awarded
scholarships to attend the EMBL Australia PhD
course in Melbourne; and Joelle Kartopawiro
received a grant to attend the 14th Annual
Australia and New Zealand Zebrafish Meeting
in Queenstown, where her fellow IMB student
Jessica De Angelis was awarded the best
student talk at the conference. Furthermore,
IMB PhD student Angie Jarrard was awarded
the top student poster prize at the Australian
Society for Microbiology annual conference,
and undergraduate student Emily Furlong
achieved the best results in her UQ second-year
experimental chemistry course and biochemistry
and molecular biology course.

IMB graduates at UQ’s July graduation ceremony

IMB graduates at UQ’s December graduation ceremony

Professor Jenny Stow (centre) meets with students from
UQ’s Advanced Study Program in Science

Professor David Craik speaks about his research at Science at the
Shine Dome, hosted by the Australian Academy of Science.
Image
credit: and
Australian
Academy
of Science
Participants at IMBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
Chemistry
Structural
Biology Division
symposium

42

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

SCIENTIFIC
ENGAGEMENT
IMB’s researchers play an active role within Australia’s
scientific and medical research community here and
abroad. Their contributions keep the institute at the
forefront of scientific advancement, sharing our progress
on the global stage and welcoming new opportunities to
collaborate with expert colleagues around the world.
The following highlights represent a
small sample of the many valuable
contributions made by our research staff
during the past 12 months.

ff Dr Kelly Smith established the Australian
Network for Cardiac and Vascular
Developmental Biologists Inc. and was
appointed secretary of the association.

Appointment highlights

ff Professor Rob Parton, Professor David
Craik and Associate Professor Rick Sturm
were appointed to the NHMRC Assigners
Academy, a prestigious body of eminent
researchers that give expert advice to the
NHMRC CEO.

ff IMB researchers were appointed and
re-appointed to the editorial boards of a
number of leading international scientific
journals, including Developmental
Cell, Journal of Cell Biology, Current
Biology, Molecular Biology of the
Cell, Endocrinology, Traffic, Journal
of Biological Chemistry, Journal of
Leukocyte Biology, Genome Medicine,
Developmental Biology, and PLOS One.
ff Professor Jenny Martin was appointed to
the National Health and Medical Research
Council (NHMRC) Women in Health
Science Working Committee.
ff Professor Sean Grimmond was appointed
to the board of the Australian Genome
Research Facility; as the Australian
representative on the International Cancer
Genome Consortium’s (ICGC) scientific
steering committee; and as a co-leader of
the ICGC’s pancreatic cancer translation
program.
ff Professor Melissa Little continued her
appointment as a member of the Strategic
Review of Health and Medical Research
McKeon Review expert panel, which
delivered its 10-year strategic health and
medical research plan for the nation to the
Australian Government in April.
ff Professor Mark Ragan was appointed
to the UK Medical Research Council’s
College of Experts, as part of its Initiative
in Medical Bioinformatics.
ff The Australian and New Zealand Society
for Cell and Developmental Biology
(ANZSCDB) appointed a number of
IMB researchers to its 2014 executive
committee, including Associate Professor
Carol Wicking as President; Associate
Professor Rohan Teasdale as Treasurer;
Dr Jo Bowles as Secretary; Dr Fiona Wylie
as Newsletter Editor; and Dr Mat Francois
and Dr Kelly Smith as its Queensland
committee representatives.

ff Professor Rob Parton and Dr Kate
Schroder were appointed to NHMRC
Grant Review panels, which provide
confidential, independent and expert
assessment of eligible NHMRC project
grant applications. Professor Jennifer
Stow was appointed to the NHMRC Peer
Review Panel for Research Fellowships.

Presentations and event
highlights
ff IMB hosted more than 40 internationally
renowned guest speakers during the year
as part of its Friday seminar series.
ff Professor David Craik presented 22
plenary and keynote lectures in 10
countries, including India, China, USA,
Thailand, Switzerland, Brazil, Japan,
France, Ukraine and Australia. Notable
among them was a major lecture at the
23rd American Peptide Symposium held
in Hawaii, US, in June.
ff Professor Sean Grimmond chaired
and presented at the cancer genomics
session of the American Association of
Cancer Research annual meeting, held in
Washington, DC, US, in April.
ff Professor Paul Alewood chaired the 10th
Australian Peptide Symposium hosted
in Penang, Malaysia, in September. The
event attracted 250 participants and also
celebrated the 21st anniversary of the
Australian Peptide Association.
ff Professor George Muscat was an invited
speaker at the International Diabetes
Federation’s World Diabetes Congress
held in Melbourne in December, and the
Asia-Pacific Diabetes and Obesity Study

Group Symposium held in Tokyo, Japan,
in October.
ff Professor Matt Cooper delivered the
inaugural Howard Florey oration to
350 delegates attending the Australian
Society for Antimicrobials annual scientific
meeting held in Sydney in February. He
was also an invited speaker at the 4th
International NanoMedicine Conference
held in Sydney in July.
ff Dr Lachlan Coin gave an invited
presentation at the Australian Society for
Microbiology annual scientific meeting
held in Adelaide in July.
ff Associate Professor Tim Bailey presented
a keynote speech at the International
Society for Computational Biology’s
Translational Bioinformatics Conference
held in Seoul, South Korea, in October.
ff Many IMB lab heads chaired sessions
and gave presentations at Combio2013—
Australia’s premier biology conference—
held in Perth in September. Notably,
Professor Alpha Yap delivered the
President’s Medal plenary address.
ff Dr Kelly Smith, assisted by Dr Ben Hogan
and Dr Mat Francois, hosted the 2nd
meeting of the Australian Network of
Cardiac and Vascular Developmental
Biologists, which was held on the Gold
Coast in October.
ff Dr Nick Hamilton, Lanna Wong and
Professor Mark Ragan organised the 10th
annual Winter School in Mathematical and
Computational Biology, an event hosted
annually by IMB. Held from 1-5 July, the
event attracted 36 expert speakers and
281 participants from 48 Australian and 9
overseas institutions from Austria, Brazil,
Iran, Japan, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia,
UAE and the US.
ff Professor Jenny Stow and Dr Kate
Schroder co-chaired the Inflammation,
Cytokines and Disease Symposium,
which attracted more than 200
participants and was held at IMB in
November.
ff IMB senior researchers delivered 181
lectures to UQ undergraduate students.

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

43

COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT
Our research aspires to change the world. And as
such, we have a responsibility to share our findings
with the community—informing them of what our
research is about, why it is important, and how the
new knowledge we discover will affect their lives.
During 2013, we welcomed 2674 external
visitors to the institute, including students,
donors, scientific collaborators, industry
partners, media, politicians and community
supporters. Our visitors joined us for a range
of events, including laboratory tours, public
seminars, scientific conferences, and student
information sessions.
Notably, we hosted tours and research
briefings for senior state and federal
politicians and staff, including the Hon Ian
Walker, Minister for Science, Information
Technology, Innovation and the Arts; and
the Hon Lawrence Springborg, Minister
for Health. The then-Shadow Minister for
Universities and Research, Senator Brett
Mason, also toured IMB and met with young
researchers in a visit organised by the
Australian Early- and Mid-Career Researcher
Forum of the Australian Academy of Science.
We were also fortunate to host visits from
our friends at Kidney Health Australia, the
Springwood/Rochedale branch of National
Seniors of Australia, and the Australian
Cancer Research Foundation and their
corporate partners, Deloittes and RBS
Morgans.
In March, Dr Bethan Hughes and Dr
Sarah Molton from the Wellcome Trust
presented a seminar on translational
funding opportunities at the UK-based
foundation. And in September, we had
a special visit from Stephen Damiani,
Chairman and Co-founder of the Mission
Massimo Foundation, where we presented
Stephen with the inaugural IMB Champion
award, in recognition for his tireless efforts
in advocating for patients and families of
children affected by a rare group of inherited
diseases called leukodystrophies.
During the year, IMB staff actively took their
research to the community by participating
in events such as the Queensland
Government’s Science in Parliament session;
sharing their latest research in briefings with
clinicians and patient support groups; and
participating in the Queensland committee
for National Science Week, which plays a
vital role in planning and supporting the
almost 400 National Science Week events
held in 2013 throughout the state. We also
participated in UQ’s Research Week activities
in September, including the BrisScience/
UQ Research Week Public Lecture where
Professor Jenny Martin presented a keynote
talk on ‘How are new medicines discovered?’

44

Our students and early-career researchers
(ECRs) honed their science communication
and engagement skills through their
involvement in our Science Ambassador
program. Interest in this program was high
in 2013, with 10 new ambassadors joining
the existing cohort of 18 ambassadors. As
always, our ambassadors played a vital role
in showcasing our research to the public at a
range of events, and inspiring future students
to choose a career in science.
ECR Dr Evan Stephens, Manager of
IMB’s Solar Biofuels Research Centre,
was a national finalist in Fresh Science,
a nationwide science communication
competition. Dr Stephens was able to share
his research, which is investigating how
to create biofuels from algae, with media
across the country, reigniting the community
conversation about the role of biofuels in
meeting future energy demands.
In May, we thanked our generous donors at
UQ’s annual Celebration of Giving for their
valuable contribution to our breakthroughs,
and we hosted a special reception to
recognise Dr Rosamond Siemon and her
grandson Andrew Stallman and his wife Jill
Stallman, who have endowed a postgraduate
scholarship in kidney research in Professor
Melissa Little’s laboratory, which was first
established in 2006 and will continue in
perpetuity.
We also had the privilege of helping Mrs
Beverley Trivett, a past IMB donor, to
launch The John Trivett Foundation’s new
campaign to raise $1.5 million to recruit a
senior research fellow in brain cancer at UQ
for five years. This senior research fellow
will be responsible for coordinating the
excellent brain cancer research happening in
Brisbane, and will be based at IMB and the
Queensland Brain Institute.
Communication through mass media
remained the most efficient way of sharing
our research news with the community.
Importantly, we grew our mainstream
media presence, securing more than 2000
mentions of our research and advocacy
efforts in print, broadcast and online media.
Some of the major outlets to publish our
research in detail included ABC TV’s
programs Australian Story, Four Corners,
Catalyst and News 24; Channel 10’s Scope;
ABC local radio, ABC Radio National, and
ABC AM and PM programs; the news
broadcasts of channels 7, 9, 10 and ABC;

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

and an impressive list of daily and weekly
newspapers and online publications from
across the country and the world.
We boosted our presence on social media,
launching a Facebook page and regularly
posting updates to Facebook and our
Twitter account about our efforts to improve
quality of life for those living with disease
and solve some of the greatest challenges
facing our society, including better fuels
and improved pesticides for crops. Social
media is the best way for people around the
world to follow our progress, so please like
our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/
InstituteforMolecularBioscience) and follow
us on Twitter (@IMBatUQ) to keep up-to-date
in 2014 and beyond.

IMB researchers actively shared their discoveries with the
media during the year

IMBers welcomed Dr Bethan Hughes (left) and Dr Sarah
Molton (second from left) from the Wellcome Trust (UK)
during a visit to IMB

IMB staff and students raised funds in
support of Movember

IMBers hosted an Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea,
raising funds in support of Cancer Council Queensland

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

45
41

RESEARCH
COMMERCIALISATION
IMB researchers collaborate with three of the
world’s top five pharmaceutical companies,
demonstrating the relevance and value of the
institute’s research to industry.
Working together with The University of
Queensland’s commercialisation company,
UniQuest, IMB continued to advance its
intellectual property (IP) and life sciences
discoveries towards translation.
UniQuest is one of Australia’s leading
research commercialisation companies,
specialising in global technology transfer, and
facilitating access for all business sectors to
world-class university research.
During 2013, IMB expanded its commercial
activities in partnership with leading national
and international organisations. A new
collaboration agreement was signed with a
top 10 European pharmaceutical company
to apply IMB’s patented technology to
engineer biologically active peptides with oral
bioavailability. This would hopefully allow the
future drug to be administered as a pill, which
would be preferable for patients over current
peptide-based drugs, which are usually
administered via injection.
Additionally, the institute signed two new
licensing agreements allowing companies
to use its proprietary assay methodology
for measuring human growth hormone.
A number of other technologies in the life
sciences and biotechnology fields are being
discussed with potential partners as the
institute seeks to expand its global industry
collaborations.
The institute continued its successful
track record in the Australian Research
Council’s (ARC) Linkage grants scheme
which supports research and development
projects between higher education
researchers and industry. In 2013, IMB
secured collaboration agreements with
five international and domestic companies,
including Janssen, Elanco, Phylogica,
Alchemia (via its subsidiary Audeo Discovery
Pty Ltd) and Innovate Ag. Janssen and
Alchemia will leverage IMB’s expertise and
capabilities in ion channel pharmacology
and pain biology. This work will build on
their previous relationships with the institute,
demonstrating the value IMB’s translational
research has contributed to both companies.
Furthermore, Elanco and Innovate Ag will
focus on agricultural projects, specifically
on the treatment of livestock parasites and
crop pests, respectively. Finally, Phylogica
will work with IMB to develop a powerful
discovery platform for peptide-based
therapeutics.
Research diversity is one of IMB’s great
strengths, and during 2013 the institute
collaborated with leading companies across

46

the industry sectors of health, agriculture,
reagents and biofuels, just to name a few.
Notably, in the area of infectious disease,
we partnered with a biotech to in-licence a
clinical candidate and strengthen our IP for
the project. We also progressed our pipeline
of novel drug candidates, specifically in
the areas of infectious disease, pain and
inflammation.
In 2013, IMB managed an IP portfolio of
25 patents including patents related to
diagnostics, therapeutics and platform
technologies. Four of IMB’s patent
applications were granted in 2013 and new
provisional patents were filed, including
those for technologies such as an improved
method for transforming human embryonic
stem cells to kidney cells, a biosensor for the
improved detection of proteases, and a novel
algae strain for the production of hydrogen
gas.
During the past decade, IMB has produced
several spin-out companies and continues
to maintain close relationships with many of
these, including Protagonist Therapeutics,
which has discovery operations at IMB,
maintaining the biotech’s access to
IMB expertise and capabilities. In 2013,
Protagonist Therapeutics raised $18 million
from Series B private financing. The biotech
is developing oral drugs for diseases
whose current treatments must be injected,
providing a safer, more effective, convenient
and affordable choice for patients and the
healthcare system.

UniQuest will continue to work alongside
IMB’s research teams in the year ahead
to pursue commercial opportunities in the
areas of human therapeutics, including
new treatments for inflammation, pain,
metabolic disorders, infection and cancer;
in agriculture, including insecticides and
pesticides; and in biotechnology, including
microalgae-based biofuels and production of
high-value materials.
*Pictured above: IMB’s commercialisation
team (L-R): Dr Stephen Earl, Dr Robert
McLachlan, and Dr Mark Ashton

Patent portfolio by
research area

2

Therapeutic
targets

4

Agriculture

2

IMB further strengthened its commercial
networks, attending major industry events
including BIO2013 in Chicago, US, and
AusBiotech in Brisbane, showcasing
IMB technologies and commercialisation
opportunities to potential industry partners.
During the year we also welcomed to the
institute visitors from several multinational
companies, including Novo Nordisk, Pfizer,
Janssen, Elanco, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly,
Shionogi, and Bayer Crop Sciences.
The institute remained committed to training
its postgraduate students and early career
researchers in how to work with industry to
take their discoveries out of the lab and into
the community. One way we achieved this
was through UniQuest’s annual two-day
commercialisation workshop. In 2013, 29
IMB researchers attended the workshop,
where they received advice on identifying
and protecting IP, through to the different
funding options and routes available to
commercialise IP and knowledge.

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

Biotechnology
/industrial

10

Therapeutics

3
4

Drug
discovery
tools

Diagnostics
/devices

PhD students Juliane Wolf and Gisela Jakob
(Hankamer Lab) at the Solar Biofuels Research Centre

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

47

GLOBAL
COLLABORATIONS
IMB is a globally recognised research institute with a strong
network of collaborators and alumni around the world. During
2013, our scientists teamed up with colleagues from 213
organisationsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;including universities, hospitals, industry and
not-for-profit organisationsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to solve some of the most complex
challenges facing our community.
Global
collaborations
by region

ff Baylor College of Medicine (Texas, US)
ff Cardiovascular Research Institute at
University of California, San Francisco (US)
ff Emory University (Georgia, US)
ff George Washington University
(Washington DC, US)
ff McGill University (Québec, Canada)
ff Oak Ridge National Laboratory
(Tennessee), US Department of Energy
ff Rockefeller University (New York, US)
ff University of Alberta (Canada)
ff University of Arizona (US)
ff University of Calgary (Alberta, Canada)
ff University of California, San Francisco (US)
ff University of California, Santa Barbara (US)
ff University of California, Santa Cruz (US)
ff University of Chicago (Illinois, US)
ff University of Cincinnati, College of
Medicine (Ohio, US)
ff University of Houston (Texas, US)
ff University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
(US)
ff University of Michigan (US)
ff University of North Florida (US)
ff University of Ohio (US)
ff University of Southern California
(California, US)
ff University of Texas Health Science Centre
(US)
ff University of Texas Medical School at
Houston (US)
ff University of Washington (US)
ff Washington University in St Louis
(Missouri, US)
ff Wistar Institute (Pennsylvania, US)
ff Yale University (Connecticut, US)

UQ Advanced Study Program in Science student, Emily Furlong,
received an IMB Undergraduate Research Scholarship to
undertake training in Professor Matt Cooperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lab

52

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

FINANCIAL
STATEMENT

INCOME

PEER-REVIEWED (COMPETITIVE) INCOME
ARC grants

NHMRC grants

2011

$’000
7,500

2012

$’000
9,702

2013

21,753

21,732

Queensland Government grants

1,663

3,946

2,224

Other peer reviewed grants - domestic

5,577

4,207

3,328

Other peer reviewed grants - international

2,794

2,462

1,624

UQ awarded grants

4,769

4,580

3,742

UQ operating funding

6,539

6,812

6,803

10,000

10,000

10,000

1,278

957

1,337

Queensland Government operating grant
Sales and services revenue

OTHER INCOME
Philanthropy

Commercialisation
Other income and recoveries

TOTAL INCOME

133

168

217

2,884

3,525

2,740

670

64,674

EXPENDITURE

2011

Researchers

782

68,893

918

2013

31,206

34,598

36,328

Infrastructure

2,752

3,016

2,816

Administrative

2,002

2,414

2,145

Research services

16,371

15,525

17,753

Commercialisation

1,200

600

356

Research higher degree support

1,384

1,387

1,570

810

1,413

912

5,530

5,104

3,230

RESEARCH EXPENDITURE

UQ internal collaborations and agreements

OPERATING EXPENDITURE
Capital equipment

$’000

$’000

674

529

438

Administration and support

359

382

290

Infrastructure and development

NET SURPLUS/(DEFICIT)

1,010

63,298

1,375

733

65,701

3,192

59%

Peerreviewed
(competitive)

2013
total income

6%

17%

Sales and
services
revenue

46%

Queensland
Government
operating
grant

UQ awarded
grants

31%

2013
operating
(core)
income

UQ
operating
funding

$’000

Information technology

TOTAL EXPENDITURE

35%

Operating

61,945

2012

REMUNERATION EXPENDITURE

Philanthropy,
commercialisation
and other income
and recoveries

7,280

20,866

OPERATING INCOME

6%

$’000

749

66,587

(4,642)

6%

Infrastructure

5%

4%

Administration

85%

Capital
equipment

Research

2013
distribution of
expenditure

CORRECTION TO 2012
ANNUAL REPORT FINANCIALS
Please note: IMB’s 2012 net income (now
‘net surplus/deficit’) published on page 49
of IMB’s 2012 Annual Report was incorrectly
listed as a deficit of $3,192,000. The correct
2012 net income figure is a surplus of
$3,192,000. This error has been corrected in
the table included here.

A model replica of the Queensland Bioscience Precinct, which is
home to IMB, made by Ali Ju (Little Lab)

UQ Senate
Vice-Chancellor and
President
IMB Board

Senior Deputy
Vice-Chancellor

UniQuest Pty Ltd

IMB Scientific Advisory
Committee

Institute Director

IMB commercialisation

Deputy Director
(Research)

Deputy Director
(Advancement)

Deputy Director
(Operations)

Postgraduate education

Advancement and
communications

Occupational health
and safety

Head, Chemistry and
Structural Biology Division

Information technology
services

Head, Genomics and
Computational Biology
Division

Human resources

Head, Molecular Cell
Biology Division

Finance, grants and
administration

Head, Molecular Genetics
and Development Division

Laboratory services

Research laboratories

56

Institute for Molecular Bioscience Annual Report 2013

OCCUPATIONAL
HEALTH AND SAFETY
IMB prides itself on its strong culture and
successful track record of workplace safety, which
is championed by its staff, students and visitors.
In 2013, IMB’s occupational health and
safety (OHS) program underwent significant
changes to improve compliance and
simplify auditing systems. On a trial basis,
senior managers were provided with formal
OHS performance reports for discussion
with senior staff undergoing their annual
performance appraisals. This was trialled at
senior levels, and will be broadened in 2014
to include all lab heads and supervisors.
The institute’s annual Workplace Health and
Safety Coordinator Safety Audit process
was also simplified for general workplaces
and chemical storage and handling system
audits, with all audits completed by the
end of December. Chemical safety training
online module completion rates were also
introduced as a standing agenda item at
IMB’s safety committee meetings, along with
fire safety and general safety completions.
Several IMB facilities underwent structural
and procedural changes with OHS
implications. Reviews of safe operating
procedures were carried out for the
lentivirus suite and for live cell work in the
ACRF Cancer Biology Imaging Facility,
with new guidelines established for the
users of those facilities. The aquarium was
decommissioned, decontaminated, and
renovated for use as a quarantine aquarium
facility. A new fume and dust extraction fan
system was installed in IMB’s mechanical
workshop and, with the assistance of the
OHS division, new soundproofing casings
were purchased for some of the vacuum
pumps in the building.

Several audits were carried out on-site at the
Solar Biofuels Research Centre at Pinjarra
Hills, including an audit by UQ OHS, and
minor corrective actions were implemented.
All of the institute’s radiation laboratories and
storage facilities, the quarantine aquarium
facility and most PC2 laboratories were
inspected and recertified for use.
While unsealed radiation use at the institute
continues to decline slowly, the Radiation
Safety and Protection Plan was reviewed by
IMB and approved by Queensland Health.
Copies of the plan were circulated to all
current users.
In collaboration with other Queensland
Bioscience Precinct (QBP) tenants—CSIRO;
the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and
Forestry (DAFF); and the Queensland Alliance
for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI)—
we updated the QBP Emergency Evacuation
Plan to achieve greater consistency in
planned emergency responses by the
different organisations. During the year,
IMB also participated in a desktop exercise
of the UQ Critical Incident Manual with
other sectors of the university, based on
a simulated emergency in the QBP. From
this emergency response exercise, valuable
information was gathered and recommended
actions for improvement of UQ systems were
adopted in the plan.

During 2013, IMB researchers
contributed to 354 scientific
publications, including 50 high-impact
publications with an impact factor
greater than 10.
Scientific publications—which include
peer-reviewed papers, book chapters
and conference papers—help IMB
researchers to share their discoveries
with research colleagues around the
world. They are also a key indicator
of the institute’s excellent research
quality and output.

Zhang, Guangmei, Hussain, Mazhar, O’Neill,
Scott L. and Asgari, Sassan (2013) Wolbachia
uses a host microRNA to regulate transcripts of
a methyltransferase, contributing to dengue virus
inhibition in Aedes aegypti. Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences of the United States of
America, 110 25: 10276-10281.